'If You Have Something In Your Armoury, Why Not Use It': Krunal Pandya On His Cheeky Bouncer Against Venkatesh Iyer
Krunal Pandya opens up on the cheeky bouncer that laid the foundation for getting Venkatesh Iyer dismissed during the match between KKR vs RCB in IPL 2025.
It was a memorable game for Krunal Pandya who impressed with the ball in his first game for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru against the title-holders Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens stadium on Saturday evening.
He led RCB’s fightback after the side was hammered in the powerplay for 60 runs with Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine looking in good form with the bat. Pandya laid the foundations with the key wicket of KKR skipper and also his deputy in quick time.
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Pandya as a result was awarded the Player of the Match award for his immense display. After receiving the award the all-rounder mentioned how important it was to keep his focus intact and not let the crowd get to his head.
“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," he shared.
The 33-year-old is well aware of how batters are improving their power-hitting abilities and the experienced campaigner has accordingly changed his game to suit such scenarios. Interestingly, he also bowled a cheeky bouncer against Venkatesh Iyer who did not have a helmet. After seeing the short delivery, the batter asked for his helmet and this gap proved to be the game-changer as Krunal got a fuller delivery to get past the southpaw to get his second wicket of the game in quick time.
“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," Pandya shared.
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.
With a new franchise, Pandya remains excited about what’s to come and hopes to continue delivering stellar performances for the remainder of the season.
“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.
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