IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants breezed past SunRisers Hyderabad by five wickets on Friday, thanks to Krunal Pandya's all-round performance. Meanwhile, he said his process-driven approach has helped him succeed lately.
On Friday, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder Krunal Pandya said taking time off to work on his bowling has put him in good head space and given him a lot of clarity. Krunal starred with the bat and the ball in LSG's five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in its 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
"This year, I'm in a good headspace. Once you have clarity up there, things fall into place. I'm very process-driven and don't think about results. I took a break from cricket for a few months because I was playing the white-ball formats, so I wanted some time off to work on my bowling," Krunal said at the post-match presentation.
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Krunal snapped three wickets, giving away 18 runs before playing a vital 34-run knock. "What happened last two-three years was I kept getting wider and wider. Whatever I did in the last 3-4 months -- getting taller and getting the ball to turn away, it is all coming out well," he added.
He dismissed SRH skipper Aiden Makram with a lovely spinning delivery which hit the off stump. "People say I don't turn the ball, so that answers it, I guess [the Markram wicket]. I'm trying to recollect how I played in the first four-five years in IPL, where I batted at four for MI—trying to find that rhythm and consistency. Having the clarity helps," said Krunal.
No-brainer to bring in spinners early
LSG skipper KL Rahul said it was a "no-brainer" to bring in spin early after seeing the conditions. Rahul introduced spin early in the game as his slow bowlers, led by Krunal, wreaked havoc. "We've been here for a couple of weeks and knew what we were getting into (nature of the pitch). It was gripping even when Jaydev (Unadkat)bowled a few cutters. So it was a no-brainer to bowl spin early. I knew KP's [Krunal] better in the powerplay," Rahul said.
Rahul said his side's batters had adapted well to the conditions at the Ekana Stadium. "First instinct when I saw both pitches was that we'll need to bat smartly here. We've adapted well as a batting unit," he concluded. Veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who grabbed two wickets and took a marvellous catch, said he bowled slower to limit the runs.
"I am feeling good. I have done a lot of hard work on my bowling and fielding. I was trying to vary my pace and bowl slower. If I bowl faster, it is easy to score for the batters. I change my bowling. I do everything efficiently," stated Mishra. Talking about the red soil, he said it aided the spinners. "The red soil has more bounce and less spin. I can't say much about the black soil. It is keeping low but not turning much," added Mishra.
SRH skipper Aiden Makram felt his side needed 30-40 runs more, as it could not stitch substantial partnerships. "Not enough runs, tried to get to 150-160 but lost too many wickets and didn't get any momentum going. We realised it wouldn't be a great wicket to bat in terms of history, but we were happy to fight. They bowled brilliantly according to the conditions," he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
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