IPL 2023: Once you have clarity, things fall into place, says LSG’s Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya of the Lucknow Super Giants says that having time off to improve on his bowling has put him in a good frame of mind. Krunal Pandya’s three-wicket haul and 34-run knock helped hosts Lucknow Super Giants beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets tonight at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, their second win of the Indian Premier League 2023 in three matches.

“Very good day at the office. Having more right-handers [to bowl at], I knew I will be bowling four overs today and I was prepared for it. Overall, this year I am in a good headspace, I have much more clarity about how I want to go about my game, whether it’s bat or ball,” Krunal said at the post-match presentation.

“Everything, I guess, once you have clarity up there, things automatically fall in place. I am someone who is very process-driven, doesn’t think that much about the result, and it is coming out really well,” the LSG all-rounder added.

Krunal entered the game in the third over and smacked the first ball, pushing Mayank Agarwal into an inaccurate drive. He sent back Anmolpreet Singh with one of his hallmarks quicker pitches that slid through and trapped the batter in front of the stumps. With the next ball, which was a little slow in the air, he tempted Aiden Markram forward. Despite his best efforts, the ball spun just enough to avoid the Sunrisers captain’s outstretched defences and smack into the off stump.

“In the last four-five months, I took a break from cricket, where I was not playing. I just wanted to work on my skills, especially bowling. I was just playing the white-ball format and what happened in the last two-three years, I just went wider and wider [with my release]. So I just wanted to work on my action, wanted to get tall so that I can get that turn and get that arm ball going as well,” Krunal said.

Going out to bat at No.4, the left-hander played an important 34-run knock in 23 balls, establishing a 55-run partnership with his captain KL Rahul to help Lucknow draw closer to their objective.

“I am trying to recollect how I played my first four-five years of IPL where I was batting at No.4 consistently for Mumbai [Indians]. In the last three years, for MI when I batted, my role was completely changed, I was batting at No.7,” Krunal said.

“So again, I am trying to find my rhythm and trying to find that consistency in how I would play at that number. Having clarity just helps you to go out there and execute your skills,” he added.