Krunal returned figures of 3 for 29 on RCB debut. ©BCCI/IPL Krunal Pandya has never taken more than 12 wickets in a single IPL season. And he’s played nine of them. Coming out of the auction, spin looked like one of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s soft spots. They hadn’t invested heavily in that department and were left relying on Krunal, a utility allrounder with just 76 IPL wickets to lead the way. It made Andy Flower’s pre-season praise of “streetwise”, “smart” and “courageous” for Krunal feel a bit of a stretch. And then came the six off his first delivery of the season. Sunil Narine deposited the ball 89 metres into the stands and then back-to-back boundaries were conceded to Ajinkya Rahane, a batter who hadn’t enjoyed the best of matchups against the all-rounder in the past. But for Krunal to bounce back from that and finish with figures of 3 for 29 was a telling response, not just for RCB’s spin strategy but for Krunal himself. Krunal has never been a big wicket-taker but what’s often overlooked is his ability to restrict. Acros nine IPL editions, the most he’s conceded in a season is 7.98 runs per over, an impressive record in a format that routinely punishes even the best. That intrinsic defensiveness came in handy on a night where early damage control was crucial and his ability to slow things down after a rapid start from KKR helped RCB claw their way back. The first key moment came when he removed Rahane, who was flying at that point with a 25-ball fifty. The dismissal seemed well thought out, the length and line allowing Rahane to swing through the line with a deep backward square in place. A clever bouncer followed to a helmet-less Venkatesh Iyer, who edged the next ball onto his stumps. In his next over, Krunal cleaned up Rinku Singh with another skiddy, wicket-to-wicket ball. It was a simple plan: keep it on an in-between length, keep it straight and vary the pace. He didn’t try too much and that made all the difference. Across his IPL career, over a quarter of his wickets have been either bowled or lbw. That’s a significant number for a spinner. Moreover, 18 of his 24 legal deliveries were mostly on an in-between length and yielded all three wickets for just 18 runs. But what Krunal got right the most was perhaps his pace variation. He began a touch too quick, bowling his first over at a speed of nearly 101 kph, but after being taken for runs, he recalibrated. His next three overs averaged 97 on the speed gun. Interestingly, his three wicket balls were his fastest of the over, suggesting the quicker one became the variation, not a default setting. “When you play in front of such a big crowd, you have to narrow down your focus,” Krunal said at the post-match presentation. “That’s what I did when I came back in the second over. I narrowed down the focus on where I wanted to bowl. If you get hit, you should only get hit on a good ball. “You have to go with the flow. How cricket is evolving, skillsets of batters are evolving, they have the ability to hit good shots consistently, so you’ve got to make sure you up your game. “One of the reasons for bowling quick was I wanted to give less time [to batters]. Change of pace is something you associate with me also. Jitesh knows I can do anything anytime, a wide yorker or a bouncer. He’s well aware of it. If you have something in your armoury to use to your advantage, why not.” It was this repeatable, no-frills approach that worked on a sticky Eden pitch, one of the flattest surfaces in the IPL over the past two years but offering just enough grip after being under the covers. It may be too early to say that RCB have solved their spin puzzle but Krunal’s spell was an early step in the right direction. Chinnaswamy will surely bring different challenges but for now, Krunal has helped ease his team’s early worry lines with a spell to remember. ShareTweet
