Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa made an impact Indian Premier League (IPL) debut as Punjab Kings' (PBKS) no.3 batter. Rajapaksa nullified the Wanindu Hasaranga threat in the middle overs and made new RCB skipper Faf du Plessis doubt left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s abilities after giving him just one over. In the post match presentation ceremony, the southpaw revealed that he used his “local knowledge” to counter Hasaranga.
“I knew how Hasaranga bowls. It was about knowing him and playing him for the last 4-5 years now. I bought my local knowledge and it worked,” the 30-year-old said.
The wicketkeeper-batter missed out on his half-century on debut but contributed with a 22-ball 43 in the high-scoring affair. He walked out to bat in the eighth over. In the 10th over, he hit Hasaranga for a six followed by a boundary which helped PBKS keep up with the required run rate. He returned to bowl in the 13th over and was hit for a six each by Rajapaksa and Liam Livingstone.
“What we thought was that we'd just have a free hit. Shikhar (Dhawan) wanted me to be aggressive although I had just come out to the middle,” revealed the Colombo-born batter.
Rajapaksa shared a crucial 43-run partnership with Dhawan for the second wicket. Ultimately, in the 14th over, he lost his wicket to Mohammed Siraj. His 43-run knock included two fours and four big sixes.
The left-handed batter also gave an insight about Mayank Agarwal-led PBKS’ mental preparation before the start of the season. The Punjab-based franchise is yet to win the tournament despite being a part of it since the inaugural season in 2008.
“This win is a huge confidence booster. We watched this movie called '14 Peaks' and we have 14 games,” the Sri Lankan batter who retracted his retirement earlier this year.
Rajapaksa was picked by PBKS for his base price of Rs 50 lakh. On the other hand, RCB splurged Rs 10.75 crore on Hasaranga after deciding not to retain him ahead of mega auction.
