RCB’s Man Friday: Krunal Pandya turns IPL final on its head | Cricket News

Krunal Pandya (IPL Photo)

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: With the bat, ball, or within the area, Krunal Pandya has all the time produced magic for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on this yr’s IPL. Krunal was the engine on which the RCB workforce functioned all through the season, and it was the 34-year-old who performed a pivotal position in ending Bengaluru’s lengthy 18-year wait.Krunal picked up the essential wickets of Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis and gave away solely 17 runs from his four-over quota. He was launched after the powerplay and squeezed Punjab Kings’ run movement, bowling 12 dot balls — which proved to be gold mud for RCB of their quest for a primary title.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The lone boundary Krunal conceded was the six Josh Inglis hit on the primary ball of his third over, however he got here again brilliantly within the subsequent 5 balls, conceding only a single. He bowled flat, fast, and various his tempo to perfection, leaving the Punjab Kings’ batters at sea whereas going through him.Who’s that IPL participant?“When we batted in the first innings, I was sitting outside and chatting with batters. I realised the slower you bowl, the better,” he mentioned on the post-match presentation.“But in this format, as a bowler, you need guts to do that because the margin of error is small. I just backed myself and thought that if I’m able to vary my pace and keep it more on the slower side, I’ll create chances rather than just coming and firing it in.

“What has been my greatest energy is studying what the state of affairs requires. I’ve all the time backed my intestine and intuition. Today additionally, I realised if I’ve to take a few wickets, I’ve to be courageous. If you bowled fast on that floor, it could’ve been an excellent batting wicket. But when you various your tempo, there was some assist.”Virat Kohli showered reward on Krunal and known as his spell game-changing within the final.“Krunal Pandya’s spell might be remembered for a very long time. He made the distinction on this final.”

Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting identified that it was Krunal’s spell the place his workforce misplaced momentum.“Krunal Pandya did an distinctive job with the overs that he bowled,” Ponting told reporters after the match.“The sport was beginning to slip away across the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth overs, and the opening received too massive,” he said while referring to Krunal’s fantastic spell.Not only Ponting, Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer also credited Krunal for his exceptional bowling performance.“They bowled brilliantly, particularly Krunal. He carries a whole lot of expertise; he has accomplished it over a time period. I consider that was the turning level,” mentioned Shreyas.

This was Krunal’s fourth IPL title, and he has played a significant role in winning two IPL finals.Interestingly, it was not the first time Krunal Pandya turned an IPL final on its head. In 2017, playing for Mumbai Indians against Rising Pune Supergiant, Krunal played an exceptional 38-ball 47 in a low-scoring final in Hyderabad. He now becomes the first player to win the Player of the Match award in two IPL finals.Krunal finished the season with 17 wickets and 109 runs. But those numbers don’t tell the full story of his contribution to RCB.Let’s jog down memory lane. On April 27 in New Delhi, the southpaw was struggling. He was going nowhere in his innings, Mitchell Starc was troubling him with searing pace, and Dushmantha Chameera then cracked him on the helmet with a short ball. Krunal had 25 off 28 and looked utterly stuck, with RCB needing 84 off 46.He hit 48 off his last 19 balls and steered his team to a comfortable six-wicket win with nine balls to spare.RCB head coach Andy Flower called him a big-match player this season.“Krunal is a big-match participant and an incredible competitor,” he said at the press conference.Indeed, Krunal has been a warrior for RCB throughout this season and, in the truest sense, has been Bengaluru’s “Man Friday.”