TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: With the bat, ball, or in the field, Krunal Pandya has always produced magic for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in this year's IPL. Krunal was the engine on which the RCB team functioned throughout the season, and it was the 34-year-old who played a pivotal role in ending Bengaluru's long 18-year wait.
Krunal picked up the crucial wickets of Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis and gave away only 17 runs from his four-over quota. He was introduced after the powerplay and squeezed Punjab Kings' run flow, bowling 12 dot balls — which proved to be gold dust for RCB in their quest for a first title.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The lone boundary Krunal conceded was the six Josh Inglis hit on the first ball of his third over, but he came back brilliantly in the next five balls, conceding just a single. He bowled flat, quick, and varied his pace to perfection, leaving the Punjab Kings’ batters at sea while facing him.
Who's that IPL player?"When we batted in the first innings, I was sitting outside and chatting with batters. I realised the slower you bowl, the better," he said at 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 biggest strength is learning what the situation requires. I’ve always backed my gut and instinct. Today also, I realised if I have to take a couple of wickets, I have to be brave. If you bowled quick on that surface, it would’ve been a good batting wicket. But if you varied your pace, there was some help."
Virat Kohli showered praise on Krunal and called his spell game-changing in the final.
"Krunal Pandya's spell will be remembered for a long time. He made the difference in this final."
Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting pointed out that it was Krunal’s spell where his team lost momentum.
"Krunal Pandya did an exceptional job with the overs that he bowled," Ponting told reporters after the match.
"The game was starting to slip away around the 11th, 12th, and 13th overs, and the hole got too big," 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, especially Krunal. He carries a lot of experience; he has done it over a period of time. I believe that was the turning point," said 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 player and a great 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."