"The way Krunal Pandya batted helped KL Rahul regain his form" - Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel believes Krunal Pandya's belligerent knock in the first ODI against England also helped KL Rahul regain his form.
Krunal joined Rahul in the middle when Team India were in a spot of bother at 205-5. However, the duo stitched together an unbroken 112-run partnership in less than 10 overs to take the hosts to a fighting score of 317/5.
While reflecting on the Krunal Pandya-KL Rahul partnership during a discussion on Star Sports, Parthiv Patel pointed out the former's aggressive knock allowed the wicket-keeper-batsman to take his time and consequently regain his lost touch.
"The way Krunal Pandya batted helped KL Rahul regain his form. So, this partnership showed why it is a team game. When you make your debut, the coach always says to go out there and express yourself. We saw that in Krunal Pandya and also in Hardik Pandya's reaction," said Patel.
Krunal Pandya eased the pressure on Rahul by taking the attack to the England bowlers as soon as he arrived in the middle. He smashed three boundaries in the 42nd over bowled by Sam Curran to give a clear sign of his intentions.
It allowed Rahul to get his eye in before he too joined the party as the duo went about dismantling the visitors' attack.
"The timing of Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul's partnership was most important" - Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan highlighted that the partnership between Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul came at an opportune time as the Indian innings seemed to be floundering at that stage.
"The timing of Krunal Pandya and KL Rahul's partnership was most important. A few wickets had fallen one after the other. Virat Kohli got out, Shikhar Dhawan got out and then Hardik Pandya got out, three wickets had fallen close to each other and after that this partnership came at a fast pace," said Pathan.
The former Indian pacer lauded the duo for taking the team to a respectable score after they seemed to have lost their way.
"If the wickets had not fallen in between, we could have expected the score to be 330-340 but when the wickets fell it seemed it may not be 300 also. And it was this partnership which helped cross the 300-run mark," concluded Pathan.
Team India lost the wickets of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, and Hardik Pandya for just 36 runs after they were comfortably placed at 169/1 at the start of the 33rd over.
Krunal Pandya (58* off 31) and KL Rahul (62* off 43) ensured there were no further setbacks for India, with the hosts posting a competitive total.