Krunal Pandya is RCB's second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL 2026 so far.
Krunal Pandya delivered a match-defining spell against his former team Mumbai Indians (MI) last night. In a high-scoring T20 game, where a total of 462 runs were scored, combining both innings, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder conceded only 26 runs in his four overs at an impressive economy of just 6.50.
His impactful spell also included the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav (33), who had just started to accelerate in a mammoth 241 run chase. Following the fixture, the 35-year-old opened up on his game plan against the MI batters and his thoughts regarding the bouncers.
The all-rounder spoke about how the attacking mindset of the batters has forced him to adapt to new skills. In the current T20 scenario, the excessive usage of flat tracks and the impact player rule allowing one extra batter for teams have made life tougher for the bowlers.
Krunal noted how the youngsters like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Mukul Choudhary, and more look to deal in boundaries from the very first ball. Thus, developing the skill of bowling bouncers has been helpful for the spin-bowling all-rounder to keep himself in the game.
“I just wanted to be one step ahead and keep the batsman guessing and that worked for us. I have never shied away from trying different and new things. Previously, without an impact player, you had No. 6 allrounder or No. 7 allrounder. But now, having eight pure batters and the skill set, so many of them are just coming and hitting from ball one consistently,” he stated after the match.
“As a bowler, I always want to be one step ahead with the skill set as well as with the mental battle. Whether it’s me bending my knee and bowling a bouncer, I’m glad that it is coming out well and hope that in this format, there are finger spinners who will survive and do well. Because for finger spinners, with flat tracks and eight batters, it has become very difficult,” opined Krunal.
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After a six-wicket defeat facing the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the reigning champions are back in winning ways with a clinical 18-run victory against MI. With three wins in four matches, the Bengaluru outfit are currently seated third in the points table. Next up, the side will lock horns against the sixth-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at home on April 15.
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