"Picking up three wickets is not an easy task" - Krunal Pandya reflects on his performance against SRH in IPL 2023
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder Krunal Pandya is satisfied with his performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
Krunal was simply brilliant with the ball, picking up three wickets and making life difficult for the SRH batters on a slow pitch. He adapted his bowling style according to the pitch and that's what gave him success.
Speaking to his LSG teammate Amit Mishra in a video posted by the IPL, here's what Krunal Pandya had to say:
"It felt good. Picking up three wickets is not an easy task. It’s very rare for me. I was feeling confident, and wickets were just the byproduct of my bowling strategy. My plan was to keep it straight and quick in the air, which made it difficult for the batters. Some balls were spinning, some were going straight. So I was just trying to vary my pace whenever a new batter came in."
Krunal Pandya also contributed with a fine knock of 34 and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round performance. He further said:
"I knew the approach I would need to play well on this pitch, having bowled four overs in the first innings. So I took a cue from the first innings and thought I should play with some intent and go hard."
Krunal Pandya on adjusting to different batting positions
Krunal Pandya is back in the No. 4 role, something that he has played a lot in for the Mumbai Indians and also for his domestic team Baroda. He agreed that it took a little bit of time for him to recall the demands of this position since he was being used as a No. 7 in the past few years in the IPL.
On this, Krunal stated:
"I just want to continue in the same way because earlier, when I used to bat higher up the order, I had that rhythm and flow. In the last three years, I have batted at number 7, so I forgot how to get that flow and how to rotate strike. And that became a long gap at this level. So I was just trying to remember how I used to play, so I have that same intent and clarity with me."
LSG gave SRH absolutely no chance to make a comeback in the game and Krunal had a huge role to play in it.