"It is equivalent to a hundred off 40 balls" - Sachin Tendulkar hails Wanindu Hasaranga for incredible bowling against PBKS in IPL 2022
Although Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lost to the Punjab Kings (PBKS), Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was highly impressed with the way leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga fared in the game.
The 24-year-old bowled four overs and picked up two wickets, conceding just 15 runs. He also overtook Yuzvendra Chahal as the current Purple Cap holder and is proving to be one of the best buys for RCB this season.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Sachin Tendulkar explained how smartly RCB spinners Hasranga and Shahbaz Ahmed bowled by using the bigger boundary to their advantage. He said:
"Very impressed with the way Hasaranga bowled. He always seems to pick up wickets in crucial phases in a game. RCB were smart in using both Hasaranga and Shahbaz. Hasaranga bowled into the leg-stump and to the long leg-side boundary, while Shahbaz bowled outside off to the longer boundary from his end."
Sachin Tendulkar also believes going at below four runs per over in an innings where more than 200 runs were scored is as good as scoring a quickfire century. He added:
"Hasaranga is picking up more wickets because he is attacking the stumps. This is because a batter cannot afford to miss the ball and also playing across the line is risky. He gave away just 15 runs in a game where 209 were scored. To me it is equivalent to a batter scoring a hundred off 40 balls."
Harpreet Brar's catch among my top three catches: Sachin Tendulkar
Although Hasaranga had a great day with the ball, he couldn't contribute much with the bat as PBKS all-rounder Harpreet Brar took a sensational catch at deep mid-wicket.
Sachin Tendulkar was impressed with the balance and the presence of mind that Brar showed while taking the catch and believes it is one of the best he has seen this season. He stated:
"Brar's catch will definitely be among this season's best catches. I will rate that among top three catches because that shows Brar's awareness. He looked in total control. The wicket was a better so Bengaluru would be thinking that had they approached the chase differently, the game would have been closer."
RCB will hope that at least some of the results from the remaining league games go their way. Else, they might need to come up trumps against the Gujarat Titans and only a comprehensive win could see them through to the playoffs.