Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were the leading names in Royal Challengers Bengaluru\u2019s bowling unit, but behind the spotlight, Krunal Pandya and Rasikh Salam carried huge portions of the workload as RCB lifted the IPL 2026 title. Salam finished the campaign with 19 wickets\u2014four more than Hazlewood\u2014while keeping things tight with an economy rate of 9.45. Krunal, meanwhile, produced a strong wicket haul of 14 wickets at 8.41 per over.<\/p>\n
In the title match against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, Salam made a crucial breakthrough on the final ball of his second over by removing Nishant Sindhu for 20, halting GT\u2019s momentum and disrupting their comeback. He ended with figures of 3 for 27 and was even in contention for a hat-trick during the spell.<\/p>\n
Commenting on Salam\u2019s impact, Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo\u2019s TimeOut show that the pacer \u201chas done his job throughout the season in a very quiet fashion,\u201d while also giving the side \u201cstability of that third seamer.\u201d Aaron added that the most important factor in modern T20 cricket is wicket-taking, and praised Salam for delivering again in the final. He highlighted that the four-over spell came with three wickets at an economy below seven (6.75), calling it something teams would gladly back in any match.<\/p>\n
Salam featured in 12 of RCB\u2019s 16 games during the season, completing his full quota of four overs in eight of those appearances. In each of those 12 matches, he was introduced as either the first or second change once Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood had faced the early overs with the new ball. Aaron suggested that Salam\u2019s ability to vary his pace and approach helped him consistently find breakthroughs in that role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the fourth seamer is generally somebody who is more defensive,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cHe has a good yorker and bowls a really effective slower ball\u2014he can bowl a couple of good slower balls, uses the knuckle ball, and he can also bowl from the back of the hand. So he comes in with that sort of assignment, and at the same time he picks up wickets. With the way the IPL is moving now, being defensive is almost becoming offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Moody, on the other hand, felt Salam benefited from the quality of support around him. Moody described him as \u201cthe beneficiary of three very, very good bowlers in front of him,\u201d pointing out that alongside Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood, Jacob Duffy delivered the first or second over for RCB on six occasions across the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not walking in and trying to break the game open\u2014because the game is already open,\u201d Moody said. \u201cHe then comes in and does what he does exceptionally well: great changes of pace. So he becomes a perfect counterpoint for the strike bowlers they have at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krunal also made a major all-round contribution for RCB. Besides his 14 wickets, he scored 226 runs with an average of 37.66 and a strike rate of 145.80. It was Krunal\u2019s fifth IPL title overall\u2014he had previously won three with Mumbai Indians before adding back-to-back trophies with RCB\u2014and Moody believed his experience from 158 IPL matches played a decisive part.<\/p>\n
Moody described Krunal as a rare type of player, saying, \u201cYou\u2019re looking for packages like him. Not just a bowler\u2014he\u2019s a top-six batter as well. He\u2019s a batter who performs well under pressure. He has a huge store of experience, so he\u2019s an unbelievable package.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron pointed to the way Krunal altered his bowling as another factor behind his success, noting that his use of bouncers, among other variations, stood out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s mentally very skilful because he knows exactly which ball to bowl and how it fits the situation, and that\u2019s really important,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cHe understands who is trying to attack him and where. I think he\u2019s very, very astute when it comes to his game plans\u2014both in how he bowls and even in how he approaches batting. His batting plans are amazing. If he feels someone is bowling into him\u2014if you\u2019re bowling around the wicket to Krunal\u2014you\u2019ll often see him shuffle to the off stump. He picks you up, he\u2019s always busy, and he\u2019s doing something different. That\u2019s what the game demands now when batters are going after you, because everyone is looking to attack spinners, especially finger spinners. What he has done has been unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were the leading names in Royal Challengers Bengaluru\u2019s bowling unit, but behind the spotlight, Krunal Pandya and Rasikh Salam carried…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"RCB IPL 2026 Triumph: Rasikh & Krunal Impact","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"RCB\u2019s IPL 2026 title success powered by Rasikh Salam\u2019s 19 wickets and Krunal Pandya\u2019s 14-wicket burst\u2014tight overs, big impact, big wins.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n