BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar heaped praise on Krunal Pandya for his bravery during the final over of their tense victory over five-times Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians after the all-rounder claimed three wickets.
Monday’s 12-run win at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium marked the first time Bengaluru prevailed at the venue in a decade but the match was in the balance until the end with 19 runs needed by the hosts in the last six balls.
But Krunal removed Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar in the first two deliveries of the 20th over and then Naman Dhir in the penultimate ball to finish with figures of 4-45 and hand his brother Hardik’s side their fourth loss in five matches.
“It wasn’t easy and the way that he bowled was amazing,” Patidar said. “The way he showed courage was fantastic. It was pretty clear that we had to take the game as deep as we can, and then we could use one over of KP at the end.”
Krunal said the confidence his skipper gave him made a big difference as they successfully defended their total of 221.
“Rajat has been fantastic,” Pandya added of Patidar, who scored 64 after Virat Kohli’s 67.
“He’s a captain who gives you the comfort when he gives you the ball, he gives you the confidence, backs your game plan and as a bowler you want that.
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“He has a calm demeanour, doesn’t make things complicated. You can see that also in how he bats.”
Krunal said he felt for his brother, who was left to digest another defeat in a shaky start to Mumbai’s season.
“The bond that we have, at the end of the day, we knew only one Pandya would win.” Krunal said. “But the love and affection we have for each other is natural.”
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