Sri Lanka’s fiery batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has made a mark in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 with two impact cameos for Punjab Kings (PBKS). Rajapaksa has been given the license to take on the bowlers by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise irrespective of the situation of the game. The left-handed batter made an impressive debut where he picked apart his fellow countryman Wanindu Hasaranga. After two quickfire cameos, Rajapaksa believes that the result will be the same next time he faces Hasaranga in the tournament.
“We all know Wanindu is the No. 1 bowler. He hasn't played cricket for a couple of months, but he had the top rank in the world a few months ago. We all were hesitant in the beginning about how to handle him, but we had a plan, and we knew that trying to block him wouldn't do any good for the team. I spoke to the head coach and the team-mates, because it's important to bring local knowledge. I've seen him and faced him many times as you mentioned.
“My game plan was that if the ball was in my area, I was going to go for it, because wickets are so good in India and you can trust the bounce. Everything turned out well for me that day. Hopefully if we meet again, it will go the same,” the PBKS batter told ESPNCricinfo.
In his 43-run knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Rajapaksa negated the Hasaranga threat by hitting him with two sixes and one four. He forced Faf du Plessis to take him off the attack only to come back and take a beating from not just Rajapaksa but Liam Livingstone as well. His knock helped PBKS win the match by five wickets. On the other hand, he is likely to go up against Hasaranga again on May 13.
He also credited his childhood coach Chulaka Amarasinghe for teaching him to pick the googly out of the hand. As a result, he was able to pick Hasaranga’s googly easily on his IPL debut.
“One good thing from my school days is that I was coached by one of the best in Sri Lanka, Chulaka Amarasinghe, who taught us to pick the ball from the hand. That gives you that split second of an advantage, and you know if it's going to be a googly. Then it's a case of taking the length on and going for your shots. That's especially true for a bowler like Wanindu,” he explained.
Rajapaksa was hitting phenomenally in the second game as well. This time Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) uncapped pacer Shivam Mavi became his victim. In the fourth over of the innings, the 30-year-old hit Mavi for one four and three consecutive sixes. However, Mavi had the last laugh as he dismissed the explosive batter on the fifth delivery. Rajapaksa contributed 31 runs to the score from just nine deliveries.
He will be seen in action again on April 8 as Mayank Agarwal-led PBKS take on Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans (GT) at Brabourne stadium, Mumbai.
