IPL 2017: Krunal Pandya reveals Mumbai Indians’ strategy in final over vs Gujarat Lions (GL)

Mumbai Indians’ (MI) all-rounder Krunal Pandya earned his third Man of the Match  award in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), for his all-round performance against Gujarat Lions (GL). at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. Krunal did an excellent job first with the ball, claiming three crucial wickets in form of Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, and conceded  a mere 14 runs from his spell of 4 overs. Krunal then stood right till the end in what turned out to be the first tied match in the ongoing IPL 2017. Krunal scored a  20-ball 29 but was run out on the final ball of the innings. IPL 2017: Krunal Pandya terms Mumbai Indians’ win over Gujarat Lions as one of his best games

After claiming the MoM award, Krunal expressed his emotions in post match ceremony and said, “I feel I am an all-rounder and need to contribute with bat, ball and in the field. Need to think as a batsman while batting and as a bowler while bowling. It wasn’t an easy wicket, you couldn’t simply go and start playing your shots straightaway. I knew that I had to stay until the end and steer the team home.”

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He also spoke about the final over, where he was facing Irfan. “I wanted to go after the first two balls of the last over (20th), that six helped me. When we needed 2 from 2, I just wanted to go for a single and let Malinga get the other run. I just told him the same, I didn’t want to take a risk in the fifth ball,” said Krunal.