Krunal Pandya reflected on the batting display from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal after Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased down a 200-plus target against Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
“Anything above 200 is always a tough chase because you have to keep going at almost 10 runs per over. The way Virat and Dev batted, some of those shots were unbelievable. I’m glad I could contribute and finish the game, nothing beats getting those two points,” Krunal said.
He also spoke about RCB’s effort with the ball after Gujarat Titans posted a strong total. “It was a really good wicket to bat on, but to restrict them from a position where they were almost 170 for one or two to 205 was a very commanding effort. Credit goes to all the bowlers, everyone stepped up when it mattered.”
Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of a 115-run stand in 59 balls with Virat Kohli, said the plan was to build a long partnership and stay in the chase. “We knew we had to build a big partnership and put the team in a strong position. Once we got the start, it was about taking it as deep as possible and making sure we kept the pressure on the opposition.”
Padikkal also thanked the home crowd in what was RCB’s final regular-season game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. “Fans, thank you so much. You guys are really, really special. Every single game you turn up and really get behind the side no matter what.”
The match saw RCB complete a five-wicket win, built around the 115-run stand between Virat Kohli (81 off 44) and Devdutt Padikkal (55 off 27), before Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 23 off 12 balls finished the chase.
Kohli also reached a milestone during the game, crossing 800 IPL fours and 300 sixes. He now holds the record for most fours in IPL history, is third on the all-time sixes list behind Chris Gayle and Rohit Sharma, and is closing in on 9000 IPL runs.