Spinner Wanindu Hasaranga picked up a five-wicket haul after skipper Faf du Plessis' impactful half-century as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recorded a 67-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to boost their play-off hopes in the IPL on Sunday.
Opting to bat on a slow surface, du Plessis led from the front with a 50-ball 73 not out, while Dinesh Karthik (eight-ball 30 not out) provided the late flourish as RCB overcame an anxious start to post 192/3. In response, SRH were skittled out for 125 to crash to their fourth loss on the trot as Hasaranga stymied their chase with figures of 4-1-18-5.
Hasaranga, who was adjudged 'Player of the Match' for his stunning spell, credited Rajasthan Royals' (RR) Yuzvendra Chahal for his immense support all this while.
"I'm a wicket-taking bowler and the team also thinks like that. I try to bowl a lot of dot balls and try to get wickets. That's my role in the team. He (Chahal) is a very good friend and he supported me last year," Hasaranga said at the post-match media interaction.
The spin-bowling all-rounder, who became the most expensive Sri Lankan player in IPL history when RCB bought him for a whopping Rs 10.75 crore at this year's auction, inflicted a fourth straight loss on SRH.
With his fifer, Hasaranga (21 wickets) became the second player in this IPL to get past 20-wicket mark and he is currently at second spot behind Yuzvendra Chahal (22).
After dismissing Aiden Markram, Hasaranga returned to have the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Jagadeesha Suchith in successive overs. He then finished off his spell with a double-wicket maiden.
"I'm really happy for my position right now. I try to take wickets in middle overs, and put pressure on the opposition. This year, four players from Sri Lanka are doing really well, especially Maheesh Theekshana (Chennai), Dushmantha Chameera (Lucknow) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Punjab). For us our three main bowlers playing in this IPL, that's good experience for us when we go back to Sri Lanka," he added.
Uncapped pace sensation Umran Malik once again had a below-par outing as he leaked 20 runs in the first over and Hasaranga said the strategy was to go after him up front to put early pressure on him.
"He (Umran Malik) bowled fast, a lot of back of the length deliveries. On this wicket, there was not much bounce, it was good to bat, so that's why our batters took on him in the first over. He got under pressure after we scored 20 runs against him. That was the plan we had against him," he concluded.
