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Krunal Pandya is a firefighter. If your team is in trouble with the bat, he is the man you push up the order. If the innings is flowing smoothly, Krunal often does not get to bat until late. Sometimes, he does not bat at all. Yet, despite the stop-start nature of his role, Royal Challengers Bengaluru trust him more than anyone else to steady the innings when there is a top-order collapse, to walk in, absorb the pressure, and extinguish the fires raging around him.
Krunal does that. And often, after putting out one fire, he starts one of his own — this time for the opposition to deal with.
The latest team to feel the heat of a Krunal special was the Mumbai Indians, his first IPL franchise and the team he represented for the longest period of his career. RCB were in trouble at 39/3 inside the powerplay while chasing 167 on a tricky surface with uneven bounce when he walked in. Krunal calmly assessed the conditions; his composure is a defining feature of his decision-making, and he began rebuilding the innings.
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Despite severe cramps that made it difficult to hobble, Krunal Pandya switched to hitting sixes instead of running singles and twos. He collapsed after some shots but got back up to face the next ball, showing sheer willpower and courage.
Krunal Pandya stated that he cherishes tough situations and never gives up. He relied on sheer willpower and courage, emphasizing that giving up is not in his nature, even when battling significant pain.
When cramps made running difficult, Krunal Pandya decided to stay at the crease and face all six balls from a bowler he felt he could attack. He focused on capitalizing on scoring opportunities by hitting boundaries and sixes.
Krunal Pandya's plan was to show intent and play proper cricketing shots from the start, avoiding a defensive mindset. He picked his areas to hit and aimed to capitalize on opportunities, adapting his approach as the cramps worsened.
Krunal Pandya acknowledges that his batting number can vary, from 3 to 8. While it can be challenging not to bat for several games, he feels trusted by the team, who believe he can perform various roles, which he sees as a positive situation.
He started by rotating the strike and staying busy at the crease, while remaining composed enough to punish loose deliveries. Gradually, he began shepherding the chase almost single-handedly as wickets continued to fall around him. By the end, the cramps had become so severe that he could barely hobble between the wickets, so he switched to hitting sixes instead. After a couple of those shots, he collapsed to the ground immediately after making contact. But each time, he got back up to face the next ball.
You can knock Krunal Pandya down, but you cannot stop him from getting back up. By the end of the innings, he had smashed 73 off 46 balls, showcasing the full range of his batting ability. If RCB had not pulled off a dramatic win off the final ball, it would have felt like a travesty, because Krunal’s innings deserved to end in celebration.
‘Sheer willpower and courage’
When asked what kept him going despite barely being able to stand, Krunal credited inner strength.
“If you see over a period of time how I’ve played my cricket, I’ve always cherished those tough situations, never giving up,” he said at the post-match press conference. “So it was sheer willpower and courage. I didn’t want to give up, that is not me as a person as well.”
Even while battling cramps and shooting pain, Krunal displayed immense game awareness. In the 18th over, bowled by Allah Ghazanfar, Krunal had Romario Shepherd at the other end. The second ball was smashed towards wide long-on, where MI failed to complete a relay catch. However, the RCB batters chose not to run despite seeing the drop, and it turned out to be the right decision.
“As a batting unit, we’ve discussed that if you fancy one bowler that you feel you can take down, just play six balls,” Krunal explained. “I was set, I was in, and obviously I realised that it was very difficult for me to run singles and twos at that time. I felt like let me just stand there, face all six balls, and capitalise as much as I can.”
Shepherd prefers pace, while Krunal backs himself strongly against spin. He went on to hit Ghazanfar for two sixes in the over, collapsing on the final delivery while attempting another big hit.
The batting game plan
“At the end of the day, you know that you have to chase the target in front of you,” Krunal explained. “My plan from the start was to show intent as a batter and play cricketing shots. I didn’t want to go in with a defensive mindset. I picked my areas where I wanted to hit.
“Later on, the cramps became very, very painful. It started in my calf, then moved to my hamstrings and glutes, in both legs. But I was very clear that I wasn’t going to walk off. I wanted to fight through the pain and do it for the team. This was also a very crucial game for us. We are at the fag end of the tournament, and every game matters. I had to fight through the pain and contribute in whichever way I could.”
Krunal also had the clarity to adapt to the changing demands of the chase. And RCB had complete faith that their man would deliver.
“I don’t have a fixed batting number, right? I’ve batted from No. 3 to No. 8 in my career,” Krunal said with a smile. “Sometimes it does get challenging… You might not bat for three or four games, but then suddenly you’re needed in the fifth. But I feel the team trusts me, that ‘KP can do all kinds of things’, which is a very good place to be in.”
For RCB, too, having a player like Krunal Pandya to call upon is a very good place to be.
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