CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Sri Lankan star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga made a fine impact in his first match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) cruised to a resounding 23-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Twenty20 match played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The 25-year-old all-rounder, returning to franchise cricket after the series in New Zealand, delivered a fine spell of bowling and picked up the key wicket of Manish Pandey as DC were restricted to 151 for nine while chasing RCB’s challenging total of 174 for six.
Hasaranga’s finest moment in this game came in his second over when he surprised Pandey with a googly, which spun in from fourth stump into the pads on middle and leg stump beating Pandey playing back.
The umpire’s decision was negative, but Hasaranga was desperate for something to go in his way and eventually he was able to overturn the decision by the television umpire following a successful review.
This dismissal was certainly one of the turning points of the game for the RCB as Pandey was threatening to take the bowling apart having completed a 37-ball half century with the help of one six and five boundaries.
Hasaranga went on to finish with figures of one wicket for 37 from three overs as the RCB got back to winning ways while recording their third victory of the current IPL season.
Earlier, former RCB Captain Virat Kohli scored his third fifty of the IPL 2023 and helped his team reach a competitive 174 for six after they were invited to bat first.
The 34-year-old dashing right-hander raced to a match winning 50 in 34 balls with the help of six boundaries and a maximum to emerge as the second leading run-getter this IPL season.
Kohli also completed 2,500 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and went on to win the Player of the Match Award.
RCB, of course, were heading for a much bigger total at one stage before DC put the brakes on the scoring-rate with some accurate bowling from Mitchell Marsh (2/18) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/23).
Chief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 174/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 50, Francois du Plessis 22, Mahipal Lomror 26, Glenn Maxwell 24, Shahbaz Ahmed 20 n.o, Mitchell Marsh 2/18, Kuldeep Yadav 2/23)
Delhi Capitals: 151/9 in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 50, Axar Patel 21, Anrich Nortje 23 n.o, Mohammed Siraj 2/23, Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/20).
