The Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) has already begun now. In the first match of the tournament on Saturday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets in the high-octane clash at the Eden Gardens. KKR, batting first, posted 174/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Bengaluru chased the target in 16.2 overs after losing only 3 wickets.
Despite Virat Kohli’s fiery 59* run innings, it was Krunal Pandya who took the Player of the Match award home. He took 3 wickets for the team, dismissing the KKR’s top batters like Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh.
For his impressive and game changing spell of
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 22, 2025/
, Krunal Pandya bagged the Player of the Match award that helped #RCB register a
-wicket victory
Scorecardhttps://t.co/C9xIFpQDTn#TATAIPL | #KKRvRCB | @RCBTweets | @krunalpandya24 pic.twitter.com/NqbiTqasNT
Krunal on match strategy
Speaking on his strategy to counter the situation, Krunal believes that it is necessary to keep the focus on the game, not the crowd. “When you play against so much crowd, I had to narrow down my focus. If I get hit I had to get hit off a good ball, glad that I could deliver. You have to go with the flow, how cricket is evolving. Batters have the skill-set to hit sixes consistently. You also have to up your game, have to make sure I bowl quicker. Change of pace is associated with pacers but also I tried it.” he said.
Krunal on bouncer
In between the match, He also bowled a clever bouncer to Venkatesh Iyer, who was not wearing a helmet. After seeing the short ball, Iyer asked for his helmet. This small break changed the game, as Krunal then bowled a fuller delivery and dismissed the left-hander, taking his second wicket in no time. “Now Jitesh knows what I will do, if it’s a wide yorker or a bouncer, if you have something in your armoury, why not use it.” he added.
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Krunal enjoys the RCB fanfare
Krunal Pandya seems to enjoy the support from RCB fans everywhere. He has already played for Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants in the past, but believes that RCB has that “Madness” in the fans. “It’s been amazing. When I got into the team, I realised how much madness there is. The crowd support you get, even in domestic cricket, there also people are chanting RCB. It’s been 10 days since I have joined and it’s been pretty good.” he concluded.
