Wanindu Hasaranga reveals inspiration behind famous celebration

The Sri Lankan ‘mystery spinner’, Wanindu Hasaranga is playing for Bangalore in the Indian T20 League 2022. He spun his web around the Kolkata batters in their latest encounter at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. It was the 6th game of the Indian T20 League 2022. Bangalore captain Faf Du Plessis won the toss and invited Kolkata to bat first. The Bangalore bowlers looked on song from the very beginning and kept picking wickets at regular intervals.

Hasaranga was introduced by Du Plessis in the 7th over of the Kolkata innings. He picked up the prized scalp of Shreyas Iyer in the very first over of his spell. From there, Hasaranga did not look back and picked up 4 wickets from his 4 overs, conceding just 20 runs. On the back of his brilliant performance, Kolkata was dismissed for just 128 runs in the 19th over of their innings. 

Bangalore, though shaky with their batting performance, ultimately won the match by 3 wickets. Hasaranga grabbed the player of the match award for his brilliant bowling exploits.

Besides his brilliant show with the ball, the Sri Lankan grabbed attention with his unique celebration after picking up wickets. His celebration resembled that of the famous Brazilian footballer Neymar. During the post-match presentations, while receiving the player of the match award, Hasaranga revealed that Neymar is his favourite footballer and he imitates the footballer’s celebration style. He further said that he tries not to take too much pressure while on the field.

‘Crucial situation, I got only four and got out. I am really happy. Especially with the dew, it is very hard to bowl. My favorite footballer is Neymar and that is his celebration which I do. When I go play, I don’t take any pressure. That’s why I feel I got success.”- Hasaranga said during the post-match presentation ceremony.