‘Lekin bhaijaan to PSL me Test khel rahe the’ – Fans surprised as Bhanuka Rajapaksha comeback in form with a 30-ball 50 in Indian T20 League 2023

In the second game of the Indian T20 League season 2023, Kolkata locked horns with Punjab at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. After winning the toss, Kolkata skipper Nitish Rana called Punjab to bat first. The decision didn’t go well with the team as Punjab openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh started well. They added 23 runs for the first wicket before Prabhsimran was dismissed by Tim Southee in the second over.

After his departure, Sri Lankan superstar Bhanuka Rajapaksha came to partner with Dhawan in the middle. Skipper Dhawan, along with Rajapaksha, added 86 runs for the second wicket. Rajapaksa, who made his debut for Punjab, scored 50 runs off 32 balls. He hammered five boundaries and two maximums before getting dismissed by Umesh Yadav.

Apart from him, Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan also played a steady knock of 40 runs off 29 balls to sail his team through the game. In 16 overs, 153 runs were scored while losing four wickets. Southee clinched two wickets but also proved expensive. 

Notably, Shikhar Dhawan is leading Punjab for the first time as he was appointed as skipper after Mayank Agarwal left the franchise. He is the third player to captain Punjab in the last four years and will be looking to take them to their maiden title. Dhawan is also looking to make some runs to make a comeback in the national side.

Gujarat continued its dominance over Chennai 

In the first game of the Indian T20 League, Hardik Pandya led Gujarat beat MS Dhoni’s Chennai by five wickets. Star allrounder Rashid Khan shone brightly with both bat and ball as he clinched the Player of the match award. He took two wickets and scored a quick 10 runs off 3 balls to help Gujarat to start well in the two-month-long tournament.

Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad also hammered a brilliant half-century to help Chennai to post a competitive total of 178/7 in 20 overs. Gaikwad in his innings scored 92 runs off 50 balls with the help of four boundaries and nine maximums. Meanwhile, fans react to Bhanuka Rajapaksha’s innings and call him a GOAT. A Twitter user said, “He is playing like a classic batsman.”

Here’s how fans reacted to Bhanuka’s knock: