Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan hailed Royal Challengers Bangalore stand-in skipper Virat Kohli for his brilliant captaincy against Punjab Kings on Thursday and said that bringing in Wanindu Hasaranga in the powerplay was a masterstroke by the former Indian captain.
Coming back from a close loss against the arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, the Bangalore based-side missed their skipper Faf du Plessis on the field in the 2nd innings, as he was played as an impact in the player in the match owing to a rib injury he sustained during the game against CSK.
With regular skipper du Plessis not taking the field, the former RCB skipper, Virat Kohli was handed the responsibility to lead the team on the field and was spot on with his field placements and bowling changes, which helped them register their third victory in the league stage.
Speaking about Virat Kohli’s captaincy, cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan lauded Virat Kohli’s captaincy and his energy on the field, which passed to his teammates in their bowling innings against Punjab Kings
“He brought a different energy. Along with the energy, the decision-making – changing the bowling regularly. Bringing Hasaranga to bowl the third over was a masterstroke because he knew that Matthew Short is troubled by spin. So he brought spin and got a strong grip on the match,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.
Wanindu Hasaranga could not find his IPL 2022 form so far in the league but produced a good performance picking up an important wicket of Matthew Short in the powerplay and Shahrukh Khan’s wicket at the end to control the run flow in the death overs for RCB.
It Gets Rubbed Off When You Bring In That Much Energy – Irfan Pathan
Royal Challengers Bangalore were fantastic in the field in the game against the Punjab Kings, as they took crucial DRS in the powerplay which helped them to get two wickets including the big wicket of Liam Livingstone. RCB fielders had a terrific day in the field as they implemented two run-outs to put Sam Curran’s team on the back foot.
“When Siraj dismissed Livingstone, he was brought from the other end, and then the fielding. It gets rubbed off when you bring in that much energy. From Virat Kohli’s energy, it seemed as though he had done the run-out,” Irfan Pathan added.
Indian speedster Mohammad Siraj was on fire against the Punjab Kings producing a match-winning performance by snaring 4 wickets and giving just 21 runs in his four overs. With this performance, Siraj is the highest wicket-taker in the league with 12 wickets from 6 games at an economy of 6.70.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will return to their home ground Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, as they will take on the table toppers Rajasthan Royals in an all-exciting clash.