Krunal Pandya’s night against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was as much a contest with his own body as it was with the opposition. Cramping started in his hamstring and spread into his glutes, and by the time he was in full stride, even running simple singles felt laborious. RCB didn’t offer him the luxury of slow grinding either—what mattered was striking big, and Krunal had to find a way to keep scoring despite the pain.
“It was very, very painful,” Krunal said at the post-match press conference after his 46-ball 73, a knock that knocked Mumbai Indians (MI) out of the playoffs race at IPL 2026. “I was very clear that I’m not going to go out. I’ll fight through that pain.”
Quick facts
- Krunal Pandya scored 73 off 46 balls in an IPL 2026 match versus RCB.
- The innings helped eliminate MI from the playoffs race.
- Krunal said cramps spread from his hamstring to his glutes, making even running singles difficult.
- He described an approach at the death: facing all six deliveries in a single over when running became too hard.
- Krunal credited Dinesh Karthik for work with the batters and praised MI’s own “support system” including his wife, mother, and his father (died in 2021).
That refusal to fold, Krunal explained, was powered by both willpower and self-belief—and it produced an innings he described as being “right up there” with his best. He pointed to past knocks that show he can change gears when conditions demand it.
For instance, he referenced his match-turning 38-ball 47 in the 2017 final against Rising Pune Supergiant. He also highlighted his unbeaten 73* against Delhi Capitals (DC) last year, and the impact he had in last year’s final with an epic spell that flipped the script against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
On a Raipur wicket that played slow and inconsistent, with uneven bounce, the innings took on extra importance. Krunal said batting there required “cricketing shots”—not just timing, but discipline to stay one step ahead of the bowlers as the ball behaved differently from over to over.
RCB had set the stage by bowling first and keeping MI to 166, which Krunal noted was only half the equation. The other half began to wobble early: by the time he came in, RCB were 39 for 3 in the sixth over, with Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar all dismissed. Deepak Chahar then added pressure by making the ball move and hoop, a pattern similar to what Bhuvneshwar Kumar had created earlier in the evening.
Adapting under pressure
Even when his body started to protest, Krunal resisted the instinct to switch entirely into survival mode. First, he steadied the innings, then he began identifying scoring areas and taking calculated risks—especially because Jacob Bethell was struggling for timing after the powerplay. In fact, Bethell didn’t hit a boundary after the first over until the 13th, when he eventually perished.
Then came the moment when his legs simply would not cooperate. Instead of trying to force quick running, he altered the plan completely—deciding to face every ball of a death over, all six deliveries in one spell, rather than constantly assessing whether he could sprint for runs.
It happened after Chahar conceded six runs in the 17th over, leaving RCB needing 30 from 18. AM Ghazanfar opened the 18th with a dot ball, and Krunal responded by swinging the next ball toward long-on. At long-on, Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma failed to execute a clean relay catch. MI escaped a bigger problem because Dhir didn’t reach the rope, and Krunal also appeared to have held onto the belief that the shot would clear the boundary.
When Tilak’s mishap let the ball trickle away, a single was there for the taking. Yet Krunal rejected it—despite the fact that completing it would have brought Romario Shepherd to strike, a player known for his finishing power. His legs were clearly failing, but his decision wasn’t only about discomfort. Krunal had already mapped the next few deliveries in his mind, and that mental preparation helped him stay decisive.
He later explained the larger idea behind that thinking. “We’ve discussed that if there’s one bowler you fancy and feel you can take down, just play out those six balls properly,” he said. “In that situation, I was set. I was in. And I realised it was becoming very difficult for me to run ones and twos because of the cramps. So I thought, ‘okay, let me just stand and face all six balls’ and capitalise on whatever I can.”
Even while dealing with severe pain, Krunal’s performance wasn’t just endurance—it was problem-solving, built around reading matchups and adjusting his execution on the fly.
He also pointed to support structures within the RCB camp that, in his view, have helped shape how the team bats. Krunal credited Dinesh Karthik for the influence inside the set-up, saying Karthik has been heavily involved with batters through detailed work over the last two seasons.
“If you look at last year and even this year, despite the ups and downs, a lot of credit goes to DK,” Krunal said. “He has spent a lot of individual time with each player, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and working on them. He’s always there for the batters. So yes, there’s no doubt a lot of credit goes to DK for how we’ve batted as a unit.”
As for his own method, Krunal described a career built on versatility—batting in many roles across the IPL, from No. 3 to No. 8. At times he has gone through stretches without needing to even put his pads on, while on other occasions he is asked to rescue a chase that’s losing momentum. Although that unpredictability can be frustrating, Krunal said he thrives on it.
“I feel good that the team trusts me to do different roles,” he said. “Whenever I bat, I ask myself what the situation is and what the team needs at that moment. I’ve never focused on personal milestones. I always try to understand the team situation and how to approach it in the simplest way possible.
“And honestly, however tough the situation is, somewhere I enjoy it.”
His mindset, he added, has also been shaped by recent lessons. Three nights earlier in Lucknow, Krunal had watched RCB fall just short. He recalled being stuck on 9 off 10 balls at one stage, with RCB requiring 63 from the final four overs. While he eventually found rhythm with the bat, it still wasn’t enough as RCB were beaten by nine runs. A failed chase on Sunday would have turned that into a third consecutive loss.
“I obviously hate losing, but I’d say I’m a graceful loser,” Krunal said. “I love winning, but even when I lose, I have the grace to accept it and think about how I can get better and move forward. That effort to improve has always been there in my life, not just as a cricketer, but as a person.
“When you go through that process, things automatically fall into place because you always carry the attitude of wanting to improve and wanting to win.”
After discussing tactics, cramps and how he planned his batting, Krunal brought the conversation back to the people who shaped him — his “support system.” He mentioned his wife and his mother, and his father, who passed away in 2021. “The more I do well, the more humble I become as a person,” he said.
There was also a reminder that this wasn’t only about old inspiration—it was about present bonds. Minutes after the match, Krunal shared a long embrace with Kieron Pollard, describing him as a friend, mentor and one of the pillars of MI’s golden era, an era Krunal also considers himself part of.
“Polly is my big brother,” Krunal said. “My best six years were at MI. The Pandya brothers and Polly… we were the engine room. We won so many games together with bat, ball and fielding. I still remember in 2021, when we were playing our last game together, the three of us held each other’s hands and felt like, ‘okay, this is probably the last time we’ll play together’.”
As he spoke, Krunal’s voice carried more emotion. “I love Kieron Pollard. He’s a terrific human being. A GOAT of this format. He’s won so many trophies and games. And Polly always used to tell me, ‘you can’t keep a good man down’.”
Those words landed with extra weight on a night when Krunal battled not just the opposition and the conditions, but also his own cramping body, to help RCB reach the top of the table.
