Rajapaksa & Hasaranga use IPL experience to ace the big occasion

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga have turn out to be family names in latest occasions, partly due to what they’ve completed for Sri Lanka however largely attributable to their exploits within the Indian Premier League (IPL). Whereas Rajapaksa featured for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2022, Hasaranga donned the Royal Challengers Bangalore purple, with each having fun with extremely profitable seasons.

Thus, each had been anticipated to play a large function for Sri Lanka on the Asia Cup. Not simply because their skill-set is unrivalled but additionally due to the expertise they delivered to the fore. And on Sunday, with 1,000,000 eyeballs gazing at how Sri Lanka would react to stress, each of them emerged from the rubble unscathed.

There have been numerous events when Pakistan put Sri Lanka underneath strife within the last. The primary of these got here within the opening over when Naseem Shah despatched Kusal Mendis’ off stump flying. Pathum Nissanka adopted go well with quickly after, with Danushka Gunathilaka additionally biting the mud within the sixth over.

At one stage, Sri Lanka discovered themselves staring down the barrel at 58/5. Rajapaksa was nonetheless round and he had Hasaranga for firm. But, contemplating how their batting unit had excelled up till the ultimate, this was a bitter tablet to swallow.

Most groups, and most gamers would have wilted underneath the burden of expectations. This was, lest we overlook, the primary time Sri Lanka had made the Asia Cup last since 2014. And right here they had been, attempting their utmost to make that appear a cheerful anomaly slightly than a promising signal of issues to come back.

Hasaranga and Rajapaksa had been very good in opposition to Pakistan

However Hasaranga and Rajapaksa had different concepts. For these unaware, Rajapaksa is a free-flowing batter by nature and barely permits bowlers to settle. He has an enormous array of strokes and might assault any sort of bowling. On Sunday, although, he determined to bide his time. He opted to evaluate his choices and wait – one thing that Rajapaksa is just not actually related to, however one thing that merely wanted to be performed.

This game-awareness, in some ways, is a product of the IPL. On the Punjab Kings, the left-handed batter was often given the license to thrill. The stress conditions, nonetheless, additionally train you how you can change tack when crucial – a studying he used to nice impact in opposition to Pakistan on Sunday.

Three of his first 4 boundaries got here within the third-man area, which for a batter often very highly effective down the bottom, was a refreshing change. The opposite boundary, as you may need guessed by now, was a crisp lofted further cowl drive off Shadab Khan.

Of the 71 runs that he scored in opposition to Pakistan, solely 59.1% got here in boundaries. That may not be a nasty tally for lots of batters however for Rajapaksa, who has, all through his T20 profession, scored 63.17% of runs in boundaries, it was a refreshing tweak in method. It was an adjustment that was maybe borne out of the scenario. Nonetheless, it was additionally a modification that he was in a position to make as a result of he was assured in his skills – assured that he’ll have the ability to tide over this powerful interval and money in when the time is true.

And he did. In direction of the tip of the innings, he unfurled his whole repertoire of strokes. Sixes had been launched over backward sq. leg and further cowl. An bold ramp off Naseem Shah got here out too and the highly effective strokes down the bottom more and more grew to become a characteristic.

Whereas Rajapaksa was alternating fantastically between the totally different batting gears he’s blessed with, Hasaranga grabbed the bull by the horns. He took aside the Pakistan bowling unit, all whereas proclaiming that he and Sri Lanka owned the stage. His batting previously few months has not fetched him as many rewards because it did firstly of his profession. For those who had been to look at Hasaranga on Sunday, although, you’ll by no means have identified.

Hasaranga then returned to provide a powerful seventeenth over, which included three prized scalps to show the sport firmly in Sri Lanka’s favour. Maheesh Theekshana, one other Sri Lankan who performs for the Chennai Tremendous Kings within the IPL, held his personal too, solely conceding 25 runs from 4 overs.

Aside from being real match-winners, the opposite thread that ties up Hasaranga and Rajapaksa is their time within the IPL. This competitors, aside from serving to Indian home expertise come to the fore, can also be very fruitful for abroad stars who may often not get as a lot of a platform to check themselves in opposition to one of the best.

They accomplish that for 2 months, wrapped up in a bio-bubble and when cricket is the only real underlying theme. And after they don the Sri Lankan colors, they not solely illustrate how you can navigate their means out of difficult terrains, they lead the cost.

The unimaginable facet about Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup victory has been how totally different gamers have stood up at totally different junctures. However everybody related to Sri Lankan cricket will let you know that when push got here to shove, prefer it did within the summit conflict on Sunday, their skilled stars got here by means of.

When Sri Lanka had been 58/5, they’d have been forgiven to consider their horror defeat to Afghanistan earlier within the match. That was additionally the one time that they had batted first at this Asia Cup. The stage was set for all the things to unravel and for everybody to dub Sri Lanka one-trick ponies and fortunate entrants within the last.

Hasaranga and Rajapaksa, although, had different concepts. It was not simply all the way down to talent (each of them possess that in abundance anyway). But it surely was additionally about how they soaked up the stress and all the time backed themselves to get the job performed. They used their expertise within the IPL to ace the large event and that, contemplating a T20 World Cup can also be on the horizon, ought to make the Sri Lankan devoted drool over what this group might go on to attain.