'He's gone better and better' - Mike Hesson lauds Wanindu Hasaranga for match-winning fifer against SRH

Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrated their 67-run victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 54 of the IPL 2022. In RCB Game Day video, Head Coach Sanjay Bangar, Mike Hesson – Director of Cricket Operations at RCB, Captain Faf Du Plessis, and RCB spinner Wanindu Hasaranga share their views and key-takeaways from the match.

Sanjay Bangar, RCB Head Coach said:

“A terrific win and we needed it on the back of CSK win, I think this is pretty special in terms of what we like about CSK game, is that everybody contributed that gave us confidence to go out there, really play well. The conditions were really tough for the batters out there but credit to all the batsmen who went there did a job for us so from that perspective I felt that we put up a good score on the board.

“In Rajat, we always had confidence in his abilities and in fact he was the one who took the pressure off in the first six overs. In first two overs we really felt the pressure after losing Virat to the first ball of the match, but the way they handled and at one point even a 43 for loss of one in the powerplay seemed to be a very good achievement at that point in time.

“They went from strength to strength and that laid the foundation for the other batsmen to come and play the way they did. What happens is that yes, the wicket slows down the ball also got softer but the more the batsman stays there once he bats 30-40 balls, he also gets tired. It was infusion of DK because he was fresh, and he could really take on the bowlers so at one point we were also considering Faf to come back because he was really cooked at that point but all the 3 partnership that he managed to get in, were very critical in us getting to 190,” he added.

Speaking about Wanindu Hasaranga’s 5 wicket-haul, Sanjay Bangar said:

“The pitch was tailor made for spinners and once you get those type of wickets then the really good spinners make it count and that’s where Hasaranga made it count the way he mixed up his flight was beautiful to watch, and he kept on bowling those length.” For everyone to come together and put up a performance like that is really special and so far he had not got the easy wickets because he was always getting setbacks but towards the end he had the opportunity and he made sure that he ran through the tail pretty quickly.” He added.

Post the win, Mike Hesson, Director of Cricket Operations at RCB, said:

“It was a big game for us obviously. The day game took a lot of us, but we were put under pressure early and obviously Rajat and Faf set the innings up for us was really crucial. Really thorough performance throughout. He is sort of packs a punch, he usually gets himself a lot of ground and generates a lot of power and a lot of leverage from there so everyone was struggling to tighten the ball on the surface, and it took him a couple of balls to line it up and then from that point on he flipped the switch and that obviously last over gave us loads of momentum heading into our bowling performance.

“Hasaranga has gone better and better as the tournament progress which is what you want and gets a bit of confidence, understands his role on the side and these sorts of wickets just turn and hold ideal for his type of bowling. Even in different flat surfaces he is still able to give it a good roll and he has been able to get big wickets for us if we look at the 20 or 21 wickets that he has got, they have been top order guys that have set through those middle overs which has been so important to us.”

RCB captain Faf du Plessis said:

“It is obviously pleasing to have played a part in us winning today, very crucial game where we are on the competition and a fantastic day for everyone. It is once again a real good team effort, I thought it was a really good score on that wicket. Day game is a bit slow, but it was spinning so it worked out well today.

“It was a tricky wicket when you come in, you could not just come in and play strokes, even DK the first two or three balls they did not get it but then he is in such good form that he is not going to miss out on four-five balls in a row so that impetus that he gave in towards the end of the innings was crucial, I was really tired so I was struggling to find a bit of power so then you need someone on the other side that can just almost give him the strike and he can do the damage and he has been doing that consistently for us.”

The man of the match and RCB star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga said:

“This is the first fiver in IPL and this my career best in T20, so I am really happy. For me I am a wicket taking option for the team also captain and coaching staff expects this from me so that is what I want to do in the middle overs. I want to maintain pressure for the opposite side, and I always try to get wickets and try to get maximum dot balls”