Krunal Pandya- the unassuming IPL great who turns up time and again in the matches that matter the most for his team.
Krunal Pandya is an IPL great even if you don’t think he is.
Keep your eyes off the numbers. Simply close your eyes and indicate if you believe Krunal Pandya to be one of the top ten bowlers in the IPL. On the day when he became the first player to win multiple Player-of-the-Match awards in the IPL finals, you will undoubtedly respond “yes,” but ask yourself if he has any right to be listed among the top ten bowlers in the world’s greatest and most competitive T20 competition.
Don’t focus on the stats. If you think Krunal Pandya is among the top ten bowlers in the IPL, just close your eyes and answer. “Yes,” you will surely say on the day he became the first player to win multiple Player-of-the-Match honours in the IPL finals, but consider whether he has any right to be ranked among the top ten bowlers in the most prestigious and competitive T20 competition in the world.
Due to his high velocity and length, Krunal is virtually immune to the sweep, which is the shot that spinners detest the most. He has only given up 65 runs to all of the sweep shot variations combined during this IPL. More has been sought after by nine spinners. They attempted to sweep him twice in the final but were unable to score any runs.
This is when Krunal’s intelligence comes into play. Due to Prabhsimran Singh’s tendency to hunt for space when he charges a spinner, Krunal bowled his slowest delivery to the very end and went wide when a subdued Prabhsimran Singh eventually chose to step out against him. This also rotated the most till it passed out of Prabhsimran’s grasp, bowling at 81.49 kph.
Krunal had a different approach when Josh Inglis, the greatest batter of the evening for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), charged at him. He bowled only his second delivery of 100 kph or more, trying to squeeze Inglis for space because he advances straight down.
After RCB had been held to 190, the lowest first-innings total of the season in Ahmedabad, Krunal bowled unaltered for a stretch of 4-0-17-2. Krunal only overpitched once in his four overs. It was a yorker, too. Nothing could be hit in the 2-4 m range without going outside. Out of the 20 deliveries he made to right-handers, only one went more than a pair of stumps wide.
Krunal only gave up a boundary when he pitched less than seven meters and went very slowly; this was most likely an attempt to turn the ball huge that didn’t work out. He ran from 79.88 to 108.33 mph. Even though it seemed like the right thing to do, Krunal acknowledged it takes courage to slow down the ball in T20.
According to Andy Flower, the reason RCB wanted Krunal was because of his attitude and his background playing in important games. With his debut game wearing the RCB red, he promptly paid them back. He was just starting what he intended to finish. Only eight players have now won four IPL finals, including him. You wouldn’t have bet on his making another top ten.