New Delhi: For much of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s tense chase against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, run-scoring had appeared like a desperate slog. At one point, Virat Kohli was scratching around on 28 off 26 balls. Krunal Pandya had crawled to 17 off 21.
The ball just wasn’t coming on to the bat and the bowlers kept hammering away with relentless discipline. But cometh the hour, cometh Krunal Pandya.
He had appeared to be struggling for the longest time; he was even hit by a bouncer in the first 20 deliveries he faced. It looked like the 163-run chase was going nowhere. But when the opening arrived, Krunal cashed in with efficiency.
First, a soaring six off Dushmantha Chameera in the 11th over broke the shackles. Then, two more in the 13th off Mukesh Kumar — including a shot over long-off against a ball of good length. RCB suddenly had momentum but there was a long way to go but the 119-run partnership between Krunal and Kohli proved to be the heart of it.
From a laboured start to a fluent finish, Krunal’s unbeaten 73 off 47 balls took RCB to an important win, keeping their playoff hopes alive. But this wasn’t a one-dimensional show.
Earlier in the day, with the ball gripping the surface, Krunal bowled a shrewd spell. He fired it into the pitch, denying width, and tying the Capitals’ batters down. He finished with a tidy 1/28, claiming the crucial wicket of Faf du Plessis.
A pattern seems to be emerging with Krunal this season: understated but effective, especially on the road. This win added to his growing collection of away masterclasses for him — earlier match-winning contributions came in Kolkata (3/29), Mumbai (4/45), Jaipur (1/29) and Mullanpur (2/25).
The pattern comes in the backdrop of RCB becoming the first team in IPL history to win their first six away games on the bounce, now one win away from a perfect 100% away record.
Nearly nine years — 3269 days to be exact – had passed since Krunal last raised his bat for a fifty in the tournament, back when Delhi were still called the Daredevils. On Sunday, against a franchise with a new name, he closed that enormous gap with a memorable knock.
“Sometimes when you have put the hard work behind the scenes, it feels good when it comes off,” Krunal said after the match. “It is quite satisfying. My role was clear: if we lose three early wickets, I can go in and make sure we stitch a partnership.”
Behind the scenes a relentless revolution takes place, spin coach Malolan Rangarajan recently pointed out. He revealed how the 34-year-old has tweaked his bowling mechanics saying, “If you saw his videos from 2016 or 2017-18, it was a completely different action. He’s worked on his action; his release is very different to what it was even two years back. He’s trying to get more dip, more drift, changing his release, using the crease.”
Krunal self-admittedly revealed some of his additions: “Over a period of time, batsmanship is getting better. As a bowler, I have realized we need to be one step ahead. Bowling a bouncer and a wide yorker, I have been practicing. I want the batters to keep guessing what I have in my armoury.”
RCB were clear in their auction plans that they wanted to lean on some experience in the squad. Krunal not only has that experience but has also shown a commitment to technical refinement even now.
Mo Bobat, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations, summed it up after the six-wicket win: “He’s got huge experience. At the halfway mark, he was passionately talking to me about how some fielding positions could have been better. He’s got so much to offer tactically. And then he went out and did the business with the bat as well.”
Players like Krunal don’t always dominate Instagram reels or X edits, but they are the ones who hold teams together. Although RCB seem to acknowledge that, they will be aware that as a team chasing history, Krunal can prove to be their go-to-man on the road.
