‘With number of games I played here…’: Krunal Pandya after his last over heroics against MI at Wankhede

MUMBAI: After playing a match-winning performance against the Mumbai Indians (MI) side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Monday, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Krunal Pandya revealed what was going in his mind when he came out to bowl the last over of the match where the five-time champions needed 19 runs to win the game.

Krunal Pandya was the star performer for the RCB side where he snapped four wickets and conceded 45 runs in his spell. He was awarded the Player of the Match for this exceptional performance in the 20th encounter of the 18th edition of the cash-rich league where he took the wickets of Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, and Deepak Chahar in the clash.

The left-arm spinner took three wickets in the final over in a thriller that had specatators on the edge of their seats at the iconic Wankhade Stadium on Monday. Those watching on TV were also glued right through.

Pandya shared his thoughts after the match.

“The bond that we (Hardik and I) have, we knew there was only one Pandya that was supposed to win; the love and affection we have for each other is very natural. He (Hardik) batted really well and I feel for him, but we (our team) won and that is most important. When I came onto bowl, Santner was batting, and the leg side was shorter. With the number of games I played here in the last 10 years, at some point, the experience had to come in. As a bowler, sometimes you want to commit, and it is important to commit 100 percent, and it helps in execution. 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. Rajat has been terrific in the way he has started, and he gives you confidence and backs your game plan as well. He is very calm and does not complicate things.

Jitesh has been terrific, he has improved his game and the game awareness he has while batting is top-notch. With the glove, he has always been exceptional. I just want to keep my head down and keep winning,” the 34-year-old player said in the post-match presentation.

Coming to the match, MI won the toss and opted to field first.

Though Phil Salt departed early, Virat (67 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) and Devdutt Padikkal (37 in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) made sure MI regretted their decision as they put on a counter-attacking 91-run stand. After the dismissal of this duo, skipper Rajat Patidar (64 in 32 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Jitesh Sharma (40* in 19 balls, with two fours and four sixes) made sure that the run-rate never went down. RCB ended at 221/5.

Hardik Pandya (2/45), the skipper and Trent Boult (2/57) took two wickets but leaked runs. Vignesh Puthur got a wicket as well. Jasprit Bumrah delivered figures of 0/29 in four overs on his comeback.

During the run-chase, MI was 99/4 in 12 overs. But an explosive 89 run stand between Tilak Varma (56 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and skipper Hardik Pandya (42 in 15 balls, with three fours and four sixes) threatened to take the game away from RCB.

However, Krunal (4/45), Josh Hazlewood (2/37) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/48) came in clutch with crucial wickets at right times, helping secure RCB a 12-run win.

RCB is at the third spot with three wins and a loss in four matches and all their three wins have been away from home. MI have won just one out of their five games and are standing at eighth spot. (ANI)