Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra praised Krunal Pandya after Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered an 18-run win against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday. Defending an above-par score of 241, Pandya returned with impressive figures of 1-26 in his quota of four overs.
The left-arm orthodox spinner accounted for Mumbai Indians veteran batter Suryakumar Yadav. Pandya kept varying his pace and action to bowl an economical spell for the reigning champions.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “The big headline was actually Krunal Pandya. I am going to start with Krunal Pandya because in a 462-run match, a guy came and conceded 26 runs in four overs. and picked up a wicket. I mean, that’s gold dust, sir. No one will give him the Player of the Match, but in my opinion, he was the difference in the end because the batting vs batting contest gets cancelled out,” he said.
Chopra praised Pandya for playing a key role in his team’s 18-run win against MI when almost 460 runs were scored in the match.
“You scored runs, and the opposing team also scored runs. You won the match by 18 runs, which is great, but there is one man who has given only 26 runs. I think Krunal Pandya deserves a special, special mention because everyone can cover up in batting. I thought Krunal Pandya was excellent,” he observed.
The renowned commentator said Pandya is a different bowler as he has all the variations in his arsenal.
“He is a different bowler. We are in Mumbai, and it’s said in Mumbai, ‘This picture and script are different.’ The script and picture might not be different, but this guy is definitely different. He is the first left-arm spinner I have seen consistently bowling bouncers at a speed of 115-118 kph. He bowls bouncers only to left-handers and outside the off-stump,” he said.
“When he bowls slow, he bowls outside the leg-stump, just like how Suryakumar Yadav got out, or bowls wide yorkers outside the off-stump. So he has that variation as well. He doesn’t end there. The round-arm bowling Gerhard Erasmus does, or Kedhar Jadhav used to do, he bends and bowls from there as well. Generally, left-arm spinners don’t have so many variations, but this guy is different,” Chopra observed.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
