Movies or documentaries often work as inspiration for cricketers.
For Punjab Kings, the whole bunch is taking inspiration from a Netflix documentary film - ‘14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible’, revealed Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Odean Smith, architects in their thrilling win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
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Chasing, RCB’s mammoth 205/2, Sri Lankan Rajapaksa and Shikhar Dhawan scored 43 each before contributions from Mayak Agarwal, Odean Smith and Shahrukh Khan helped Punjab Kings reach the target with an over to spare and five wickets in hand.
“We watched this movie called ‘14 Peaks’ and we have 14 games. Every game is a batter's game. The credit should go to the bowlers to restrict them to 200. But in the middle overs, we gave away around 130 runs in the last 8-9 overs,” Rajapaksa said after the game.
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“But I am sure the bowlers will come up with better plans in the future.” 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible is about a Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team as the group attempt to climb all 14 eight-thousander peaks within a record time of under 7 months.
His 43 came off just 22 balls that included two fours and four sixes. Out of those, Rajapaksa took two sixes and a four off his fellow countryman Wanindu Hasaranga. “I knew how Hasaranga bowls. It was about knowing him and playing him for the last 4-5 years now,” he continued.
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“I bought my local knowledge and it worked. This win is a huge confidence booster,” Rajapaksa added. However, RCB captain Faf du Plessis rued the missed chances and said dropping Odean Smith was the turning point.
“The catches towards the end.. Odean Smith 25 off 8 balls.. I think we probably dropped him on 10. You know what Odean Smith can do to you. So you got to hold on to those chances,” said Du Plessis, who 88 off 57 balls propelled RCB past the 200-run mark.
Man of the Match Smith stressed on having the belief in themselves and that did the trick for the 2014 finalists. “We were stressing on having a good start. We just needed to have that belief. Didn't go so well with the bowling,” said the West Indian.
“Punjab haven’t won the title so far but we need to have the belief. We watched ‘14 peaks’, 13 remain for us.” Surely, Punjab Kings have scaled the first peak. They next play Kolkata Knight Riders on April 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
