Ind vs SL: 3 reasons why Krunal Pandya could be India's X-factor
Spin-bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya made his ODl debut for India earlier this year in a white-ball home series against England. While his debut in that format was extremely decent, Pandya made his T20I debut back in November 2018. He has also been an integral part of the five-time IPL-winning Mumbai Indians side for over four years now.
The upcoming India-Sri Lanka series will prove to be crucial for Krunal Pandya. He will be looking to cement his place in the limited-overs set-up for India with some strong performances.
Here, we take a look at 3 reasons why India must use Krunal Pandya in their line-up.
1) Krunal Pandya adds depth to an ever-so brittle Indian tail
Krunal Pandya enjoyed a terrific ODI debut with the bat this year. He scored 95 runs in the three-match ODI series helping India to a 2-1 series win.
Pandya's knocks included a 31-ball 51 in his debut innings. His ability with the bat brought in some much needed depth to the Indian line-up and could be valuable again during the Sri Lanka series.
With the ball, however, the left-arm spinner was heavily preyed on by the English batsmen in the second ODI. He conceded a barely believable 72 runs in the six overs that he bowled. Pandya's ODI debut indicated that he is not a typical 10-over bowler. However, his ability to control the run-flow by bowling 3-4 tight overs and providing a flourishing end to the innings batting at seven could greatly benefit India’s T20I setting.
Krunal Pandya also comes with a truckload of experience in the T20 format. He has a wide array of shots for a lower-order player, can rotate strike efficiently, and is capable of hitting big shots with ease. If India were to use him in the ODIs as well, Pandya could be placed at seven purely for his batting skills.
2) Krunal Pandya has the ability to consistently bounce back from a poor outing
Krunal Pandya was central to India’s T20I series win in his first overseas series against Australia in 2018. He recorded the best bowling figures by a spinner in Australia, ending with 4/36 in the third T20I, which was also his personal best.
Pandya didn’t have the best of starts to the series as he was smashed all over the ground in the first T20. However, he bounced back immediately and put up a decent showing in the second T20, bagging figures of 1-26 in Melbourne.
The left-arm spinner has conceded 40+ runs in three of his 10 T20Is so far, and between 36 and 40 in two other T20s. That amounts to five costly spells in ten matches, but Pandya has still bounced back after every poor outing.
His figures of 1/37 in Wellington against New Zealand in 2018 was followed by figures of 3/28 in Auckland. He then went for 54 runs in the final T20I of the New Zealand tour, in Hamilton without picking up a wicket. However, he followed it up with an excellent 1/17 against Australia in Visakhapatnam.
Pandya's numbers against the top T20 sides illustrate his ability to adapt to conditions quite well. This has in turn helped him translate his readings of the pitch into solid performances.
One of the key aspects of Krunal Pandya's game comes from his ability to improve his performance against the best in the business. The fact that he has dismissed batting icon AB de Villiers four times in the IPL, while conceding at just 6.5 runs per over to the South African, is a testament to his competitive attitude.
Krunal Pandya’s innate ability to provide key breakthroughs when none of the frontline bowlers are able to do so will come in handy for the Indian side this series as well.
3) Krunal Pandya’s subtle variations with the ball
Cricket has slowly but surely turned into a batter-favoured game in recent years, with bowlers constantly bringing out new variations to keep the batters in check.
Krunal Pandya, too, has made use of subtle variations in his pace and length to deceive batsmen in recent years. He has also displayed his ability to operate at the same level from around the wicket as well as over the wicket on multiple occasions. Pandya is a great asset to use against right-handers, as affirmed by his IPL record against batting genius AB de Villiers.
He is also an accurate and attacking option in the Powerplay. Krunal Pandya isn’t afraid to pitch the ball up and risk going for big runs while using his variations to set up the best of batsmen.
During his T20 debut against the Windies in 2018, Pandya leaked 10 runs in his first over, but showed great maturity by sticking to his plans. He fought back by using the crease to explore different angles in an effort to stop the run-flow. Pandya's next three overs cost a mere five runs, and he also captured the important wicket of Mumbai Indians teammate Kieron Pollard.
Accuracy has always been Pandya’s biggest plus point and this is something India will look to benefit from. The left-armer's skillset will be particularly valuable considering the drop in form suffered by frontline spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.