'9 IPL trophies in the Pandya household!' Krunal calls Hardik after POTM win in RCB's 1st title victory
In his four-over spell, the spinner delivered a match-winning performance, conceding just 17 runs at an economy of 4.20 and taking two key wickets — opener Prabhsimran Singh (26 off 22) and Josh Inglis (39 off 23), both looking dangerous. For his crucial contribution in helping RCB lift their maiden IPL trophy, Krunal was awarded the Player of the Match.
Moments he will never forget 🏆Moments they will never forget 🤩🎥 Virat Kohli 🤝 The #RCB faithful ❤#TATAIPL | #RCBvPBKS | #Final | #TheLastMile | @RCBTweets | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/ObyJxRI0C0
Krunal Pandya — the clutch player
Speaking to Ravi Shastri during the post-match presentation, Krunal explained his bowling approach: "When we batted in the first innings, I was sitting outside and chatting with the batters, and I realised that the slower you bowl, the better. But in this format, you need guts to do that because the margin of error is small. I just backed myself and thought if I varied my pace and kept it on the slower side, I could create chances instead of just firing it in."
He added: "My biggest strength has always been reading the situation. I back my gut and instincts. Today, I knew if I wanted to take a couple of wickets, I had to be brave. If you bowled quick on this surface, it would've been a good batting pitch. But varying the pace helped. It got slightly better in the second innings compared to the first."
The man for the 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 🫡@krunalpandya24 becomes the 1️⃣st player to deliver TWO Player of the Match performances in #TATAIPL finals 👏He guides #RCB to a maiden title 🙌Relive his spell ▶ https://t.co/vNWU7vQF06 #RCBvPBKS | #Final | #TheLastMile pic.twitter.com/0B4LMWCJc0
On RCB's long-awaited triumph, Krunal said: "When I joined RCB, I said I loved winning trophies. After three and a half months, I'm glad I could fulfil what I said on Day 1."
What he said next struck an emotional chord with fans: "It's been a great 10 years — four IPL trophies. I told Hardik on the phone, now there are nine IPL trophies in the Pandya household in 10 years."
About RCB's victory
PBKS openers started strong, but RCB kept striking at key moments. The game turned with Krunal Pandya's brilliant spell. Romario Shepherd's key wicket of Shreyas Iyer, who failed to fire, also swung momentum.
Despite PBKS's deep batting lineup, the run rate climbed steadily.
Marcus Stoinis hit a six but fell on the very next ball, Nehal Wadhera holed out, and RCB's bowlers — Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal — kept it tight in the end, despite Shashank Singh's efforts to retain strike.
Apart from an early drop, RCB's fielding was sharp, with Phil Salt setting the tone with a superb catch. In a pressure final, RCB outplayed PBKS with smart bowling, disciplined fielding, and calm execution — finally lifting their first IPL trophy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
6 minutes ago
- The Hindu
He's the new Pandya on the block
A year ago, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium bore witness to the rise of young stars. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 13-year-old prodigy from Bihar stunned the cricketing world with a fearless century against Australia Under-19, his array of strokes made people at the ground sit up and take notice and also garnered global attention. In the same series, away from the spotlight, a 17-year-old quietly made his mark. Calm, composed, and resilient—Nitya J. Pandya scored a steady 54 in the first 'Test' and a determined 94 in the second. Since then, Suryavanshi lit up the IPL playing for Rajasthan Royals, making waves across the country and beyond. For Nitya, Cooch Behar Trophy became his canvas—two double hundreds, two centuries, and the tournament's top run-scorer (881 runs in six matches). His reward — A place in Baroda's Ranji Trophy squad. Now, fate has brought him back to Chennai—the city that first embraced his talent. And once again, he has delivered: a match-defining 102 (first innings) and 54 against Odisha in the Buchi Babu tournament. In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu, Nitya expressed his joy at coming back to the city. 'It's a great feeling to be back here, this place is like home to me. The wickets in Chennai are very batting-friendly, but you still have to be disciplined and patient. That's what I've focused on'. Reflecting on his time during the 'Youth Test', he said, 'Playing against Australia was a huge moment. Representing your country is a privilege.' Nitya credited his coaches for helping him stay grounded and focused, 'My coaches, Digvijay Rathwa and Ketan Panchal, helped me work on the basics during the off-season. My Ranji coaches, Mukund (Parmar) sir and Arvind sir, were also very supportive. As for his ambition, 'I'm not chasing individual records, but yes, ultimately, I want to play Test cricket for India.'
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Shreyas Iyer should get clear communication: Ajinkya Rahane after Asia Cup snub
Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has weighed in on the exclusion of his state teammate Shreyas Iyer from India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. Rahane, who has shared the Mumbai dressing room with Iyer for years, acknowledged that the batter has every right to feel disappointed but also understands the management's dilemma in picking only 15 T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for the Asia Cup starting September 9. Despite scoring 604 runs in IPL 2025 at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07, Iyer missed out on both the main squad and the standby list. Rahane admitted it was a tough call but stressed the need for better communication with sure he (Shreyas Iyer) must be really disappointed considering the kind of IPL he had. It was a fantastic season. Even in domestic cricket, especially in the 50-over format, he has performed really well whenever given opportunities. I can completely understand the team management's point of view, since they can only pick 15 players and need to see the balance of the team,' Rahane said on his YouTube channel. Chief selector Agarkar also addressed the exclusion when asked about it at the press conference. 'In terms of Shreyas, it's again unfortunate. You tell me who he can replace in this squad. It's not his fault, nor ours, it's just that only 15 can be picked, and at the moment, he has to wait for his chances,' Agarkar however, emphasized the importance of transparency between selectors and Iyer regarding his future in the T20 setup.'The only thing I want to see and I want to know is that a proper communication from selectors and team management with Shreyas. He's an important member of the team and I'm sure in the coming years or in the future he's going to be part of the T20 format as well. So communication is the key from the selectors to Shreyas Iyer,' he add context, the selectors included Dhruv Jurel as a reserve wicketkeeper despite having Sanju Samson in the main squad. Some feel Iyer could have taken that reserve slot instead, highlighting the fine margins in selection decisions.- Ends
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Online Gaming Bill 2025: BCCI secy Saikia weighs in on new bill - 'We will only do what's allowed under Indian law'
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia MUMBAI: Ever since the government has introduced its new online gaming bill, specifically the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025', there are fears that India's cricket industry's revenue could be badly hit. The Board of Control for Cricket in India , especially, has reason to be worried as two prominent gaming companies - Dream11 and My11Circle are its key sponsors. While Dream11 is the title sponsor of Team India, My11Circle holds the fantasy gaming rights for the IPL for the next three years. The BCCI , however, has made it abundantly clear that it will abide by the law of the land. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "The act has just been discussed in the Lok Sabha today and the Rajya Sabha yesterday. It would then take a final shape, go through Presidential assent, and then there will be a 'date of appointment.' We will then read it, and then only we will take a call on whatever is there. The BCCI will not do anything which is not permitted by the government or by any law of the country. The BCCI will not violate any of the laws enforced in the country. That's very clear," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Thursday. Poll How do you feel about India participating in the Asia Cup despite political tensions? It's a good decision for sports It's inappropriate given the situation I have mixed feelings Explaining the BCCI's future course of action, Saikia said, "Once the act comes into force, we will look into it, examine it and if it's permissible, then we will take sponsorship (from online betting and gaming companies), if it's not permissible, we'll not do anything. Take the example of cigarettes and liquor. Has the BCCI taken any sponsorship from the cigarettes and liquor companies once taking sponsorship from these kinds of companies was banned? So, whatever is permissible in the laws in force in our country, we will do that only. " "The BCCI will follow every policy of the country which is framed by the central government," asserted the BCCI secretary. 'Govt policy will put to rest all campaigns against India's participation in Asia Cup' The BCCI has "welcomed" the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports coming out with a policy (guidelines) on Thursday which declared that India and Pakistan will not have any bilateral sporting ties even on neutral venues as per an unprecedented new policy but the cricket team won't be stopped from playing the Asia Cup next month as it is a multilateral engagement. The policy will enable Team India to compete in the T20 Asia Cup in UAE next month, despite the growing clamour for boycott and withdrawal from the tournament. India are supposed to play Pakistan at least twice in the tournament - on Sept 14 in the league stage and on Sept 21, in the Super Four stage. India will not host or visit pakistan for bilateral contests, but their athletes and teams can take part in multi-nation events that also involve Pakistan, clearing the path for their upcoming fixtures in the men's Asia Cup in September and the women's ODI World Cup in October (India will play Pakistan in Colombo on Oct 5). Pakistan's sportspersons can also participate in multilateral events hosted by India, but it's not clear if India's athletes can go to Pakistan for similar sporting events. "Today, the central government has come out with a policy on international sporting events. We welcome this. This will put to rest all the campaigns against India participating in the Asia Cup. The BCCI is doing this (participating in the Asia Cup) as per the central government's policy. The central government has taken the interest of the players, the teams and also, the events that are going to be hosted by our country in the future. So, all these things are very nicely taken by the government of India and we fully endorse the view expressed by the central government and we will 100% abide by the policy framed by the central government," Saikia told this paper. "The BCCI will not go a single inch against the government's policy. We will fully abide by all policies of the central government, whether it is participating in an international sporting event or regarding sponsorship. We will follow everything in true letter and spirit," the Indian Board secretary asserted before signing off. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
