Kolkata: Although it may appear as a wide on the scorecard, Venkatesh Iyer might have a different perspective. His decision to remove his helmet after the ball was directed towards Krunal Pandya is a typical response from any batsman when facing spin; however, Iyer was caught off guard by a bouncer. While the delivery was not particularly well-aimed, the intent was clear. This was further emphasized when Pandya dismissed Iyer on the very next ball by delivering a flatter and quicker delivery that forced him onto the back foot.

This two-ball strategy is commonly employed by fast bowlers, but it is less frequently seen in white-ball cricket, especially among spinners.

Pandya, however, aims to redefine the norms, challenging batsmen to better anticipate his deliveries. “I wanted to bowl quickly; variations in pace were also effective. Jitesh (the wicketkeeper) knows I can execute a wide yorker or a bouncer, so he is prepared,” Pandya remarked following RCB’s seven-wicket victory over KKR on Saturday.

With match figures of 3/29, Pandya's performance aligns with the typical expectations for spinners at Eden Gardens, although this pitch was not slow, provided good bounce, and offered minimal turn. While Pandya is not known for turning the ball significantly, his ability to consistently restrict batsmen is often underestimated, as evidenced by his commendable economy rate of 7.37. KKR, however, was not overly concerned with these statistics when Sunil Narine—who was not having the best start—cleared his front leg and struck an impressive 89-meter six. Two additional boundaries from Ajinkya Rahane made it seem like Pandya bowling during the Powerplays was already a questionable decision.

It likely was. However, Pandya is notably more effective during the middle overs, a fact that KKR may have recognized but struggled to counter. His impressive performance of taking three wickets while allowing only 14 runs in three overs showcased his ability to recover from an early setback. He achieved this by skillfully varying his pace and lengths, a strategy that RCB head coach Andy Flower—who previously worked with Pandya at LSG—had anticipated prior to the match.

"Krunal was a key player we targeted during the auction," Flower remarked. "He is an intelligent and bold cricketer with leadership experience. His expertise is invaluable; he is a savvy operator and possesses significant talent as a left-arm spinner, in addition to being an allrounder. His presence is reassuring for our team, especially in the spin department."

With Suyash Sharma struggling with his accuracy and Liam Livingstone serving primarily as a part-time bowler, someone needed to take charge of RCB's spin bowling in the middle overs. Pandya quickly asserted his dominance by dismissing Rahane in the 11th over, delivering consecutive flat balls before allowing the KKR captain to adjust his stance, all while having a fielder positioned at deep backward square leg. Rasikh Salam made the catch with minimal movement. This illustrates Pandya's approach; by altering lengths and speeds, he focuses on controlling the range rather than the direction.

A clear example of this is Rinku Singh's dismissal. The manner of the dismissal was not unexpected—Pandya bowled a delivery at 103kph that limited Rinku's options. In previous deliveries, Rinku had attempted various shots, including nudging to long-off, dabbing to short third man, and trying to work the ball through midwicket, but he failed to connect with the flick and missed the slog sweep. After five balls without scoring boundaries, which is challenging for a hitter like Rinku to accept, he attempted another pull shot that resulted in a miss, granting Pandya his third wicket of the match and marking a remarkable turnaround.

Navigating that pitch and the surrounding noise could not have been easy, but Pandya has demonstrated his resilience.

“Sometimes when you play in front of so much of crowd, you have to narrow down your focus, right?” said Pandya. “So again, when I came in (for my) second over, I made a very conscious effort to just narrow down my focus, where I wanted to bowl, and if I (had) to get hit, I’ll get hit on a good ball. So that was the thought process, and (I am) glad that I was able to deliver.”

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