The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), captained by Rajat Patidar, defeated the Mumbai Indians (MI) by a stunning 12-run margin on Monday night at the storied Wankhede Stadium. When the game came down to the last over, Krunal Pandya maintained his composure to win the match for RCB, writing a spectacular comeback and putting an end to the team’s ten-year skid at the stadium.
After being tasked with defending 19 runs in the final six deliveries, the left-arm all-rounder was able to limit the MI hitters by making sure his line and lengths were correct. Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, and Naman Dhir were the three wickets he took in the over, giving him his best IPL total of 4/45. Only one member of the family was supposed to be on the winning side, the 34-year-old said when asked about defeating his brother Hardik Pandya’s team after the game.
It is quite natural for Hardik and I to love and care for one another, even though we both understood that there was only one Pandya who was meant to win. “I feel bad for him because he (Hardik) batted so well, but the most important thing is that we (our team) won,” he added in the post-match interview.
Rajat has performed admirably from the beginning: Krunal Pandya
There has been criticism and inconsistency surrounding Hardik’s captaincy. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah returned, but MI was unable to improve the situation. However, Krunal, who is playing for the RCB this season, has been thriving under Andy Flower’s leadership and making contributions with the ball as well.
“Andy (Flower) and I were there for 2 years in LSG, and it was good to know Andy from personal space and the way we are going as a team, we are in a very good head space,” he said.
In the meantime, the visiting team was asked to bat first and scored an above-average total of 221/5. Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22) and Virat Kohli (67 off 42) gave them a strong start in the PowerPlay. Jitesh Sharma (40* off 19) and Rajat Patidar (64 off 32) made sure the squad reached the 200-run milestone by smashing 70 runs in the final five overs.
MI’s pursuit got underway steadily. They battled through the middle overs despite Hardik’s fast 42 and Tilak Varma’s 56, after being 54/2 at the end of the PowerPlay. When Hardik hit Hazlewood for 22 runs in an over and then hit two sixes off Krunal, the tide turned. But just when it appeared that MI would win handily, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Krunal showed off their bowling prowess.
“Santner was batting when I came onto the pitch, and the leg side was shorter. Eventually, my ten years of experience had to be taken into consideration. As a bowler, you may want to commit at times, but it’s crucial to give it your all because it aids with execution. In his initial approach, Rajat has been excellent. He instills confidence in you and supports your strategy. He doesn’t complicate things and is extremely calm. Jitesh has been amazing; he has become a better player and has excellent game awareness when batting. He’s always been great with the gloves. “All I want to do is keep winning and keep my head down,” Krunal said.
Notably, MI will have time to regroup before their own match against DC on April 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, while RCB will now travel home to play the Delhi Capitals on April 10.
India
