IPL 2017, Match 35, GL v MI, CT Player of the Match - Krunal Pandya

We keep talking about the Pandya brothers and how they just can’t be kept away from the game. Well, on a humid Saturday evening in Rajkot, it was the Krunal Pandya who spun the web around the Gujarat Lions batsmen to restrict the hosts to 153.

Never is it easy to sit out for a game and deliver a commendable performance in the very next. Krunal Pandya, however, seemed to know this trick like the back of his hand. Exceptional figures of 3/14 in his four overs did all the talking. Although an uncapped player bedimmed by the success of younger brother Hardik at the international stage, Krunal rose to the occasion against a power-packed Gujarat Lions batting line-up.

A stifling spell from Krunal Pandya set up a gettable target for the Mumbai Indians. However, when MI were in quite some trouble, his crucial contribution lower down the order sent the game into a super over, a first this season. Bumrah’s barrage of yorkers did the job, but it was Krunal Pandya’s all-round contribution which earned the Mumbai Indians another win to keep them well ahead of all other teams on the points table.

Restricting GL’s momentum

Suresh Raina opted to bat first as he thought the dry surface might make it tough to chase. Rohit, however, would have bowled first anyway. The hosts opened with Brendon McCullum and young Ishan Kishan. The latter was the one who got GL off to a flier. McCullum perished early, but the momentum was still with the Lions. Skipper Raina departed for just 1 while Finch left without troubling the scorers, leaving GL in a spot of bother.

Enter Krunal Pandya, who put the pressure right back on the visitors with a tidy first over. He gave away just 3 off the first over after powerplay. He came back to bowl the 8th to dismiss the dangerous Dinesh Karthik off the second delivery. Krunal drifted one down the leg to Karthik who had stepped out slightly. The batsman’s foot had gone across and his balance, awry. Parthiv Patel shuffled to his left and disturbed Karthik’s woodwork.

More wickets

The left-arm orthodox spinner came back for a second spell to bowl the 14th over of the innings. He removed Ravindra Jadeja as the batsman attempted a slog sweep. The ball took Jadeja’s top edge to safely land in the bowler’s hands. He then went on to dismiss Irfan Pathan for just 2. A skier from Pathan’s top edge was pouched by none other than his younger brother Hardik.

Crucial knock

Mumbai got off to a blistering start thanks to the little man Parthiv Patel. His 70 had brought his side within touching distance from victory. Gujarat, however, added a twist to the tale. Parthiv lost his wicket in an eventful Faulkner over, which also saw Rohit Sharma walk back to the hut. The scorecard – 109/4 at the end of the 14th.

Two new batsmen Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard were at the crease. The equation still didn’t look too daunting as Mumbai needed 45 off the last 6. Pollard though perished in the 16th to tip the scales back in Gujarat’s favour.

Wickets tumbled as the 26-year-old watched in agony from the other end. Hardik, Harbhajan and McClenaghan all departed without making any notable contributions. It was all down to Krunal as Mumbai needed 11 from the last over.

Forcing the super over

Suresh Raina trusted the final over to the experienced Irfan Pathan. Pandya, however, greeted his Baroda skipper with a huge six that crashed into the sightscreen. His gutsy shot brought it down to 5 off 5. The third ball of the final over though saw Bumrah getting run out. Credit must go where it’s due – the Gujarat Lions were simply phenomenal in the field. Mumbai were 9 down.

It boiled down to 2 off 2 as Krunal took a single off the penultimate ball to bring Malinga on the strike. Pathan fired the final one into Malinga’s pads. He missed the flick as the ball ricocheted towards Jadeja at point. His throw at the stumps left Krunal an inch away from victory, literally. He was run-out for 29, which in hindsight, were perhaps the most important 29 runs of the Mumbai innings. The game went into a super over, which Mumbai won courtesy of Bumrah’s well-executed yorkers.

The Lions fought back almost from nowhere. Mumbai were cruising when a series of wickets and run-outs brought them right back into the game. Nevertheless, it was Krunal Pandya who bailed them out and forced the super over. He followed up a brilliant bowling performance with responsibility at the crease. When the going got tough, the tough got going, and tonight, that tough man was Krunal Pandya – our CT Player of the Match.