Matches (18) NZ vs SA (1) NZ-W vs SA-W (1) CAN PM Cup (4) MLT (3-day) (4) Logan Cup (2) Nigeria Invitational T20 (2) CSA Division Two (1) CSA Division One (2) AUS Women in WI (1) RESULT 4th T20I • NZ vs SA (18.5/20 ov, T:165) 145 South Africa won by 19 runs RESULT 4th T20I • NZ-W vs SA-W (18.3/20 ov, T:160) 160/4 NZ Women won by 6 wickets (with 9 balls remaining) RESULT 3rd Match • CAN PM Cup (47/47 ov) 243/8 (45.3/47 ov, T:244) 221 Army won by 22 runs ScheduleTable RESULT 4th Match • CAN PM Cup (45.1/50 ov, T:272) 200 Armed Police won by 71 runs ScheduleTable RESULT Super Eight • MLT (3-day) Match drawn ScheduleTable RESULT Super Eight • MLT (3-day) (T:219) 232 & 217/8 Match drawn ScheduleTable RESULT Super Eight • MLT (3-day) 463 & 260/9 Match drawn ScheduleTable RESULT Super Eight • MLT (3-day) Match drawn ScheduleTable RESULT 17th Match • Logan Cup (T:333) 170 & 144 Eagles won by 188 runs ScheduleTable RESULT 18th Match • Logan Cup Match drawn ScheduleTable RESULT 5th Match • Nigeria Invitational T20 (10.4/20 ov, T:160) 23 NGA Women won by 136 runs ScheduleTable RESULT Final • CSA Division Two (36.2/50 ov, T:149) 149/5 Knights won by 5 wickets (with 82 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT 28th Match • CSA Division One (42/42 ov) 167/8 (21/29 ov, T:144) 145/2 Titans won by 8 wickets (with 48 balls remaining) (DLS method) ScheduleTable RESULT 27th Match • CSA Division One (48.5/50 ov, T:236) 239/9 Dolphins won by 1 wicket (with 7 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT 6th Match • Nigeria Invitational T20 (14/14 ov) 101/7 (14/14 ov, T:105) 100/4 RWA Women won by 4 runs (DLS method) ScheduleTable Upcoming3rd T20I • AUS Women in WI • Kingstown Match yet to begin Upcoming5th Match • CAN PM Cup • Janakpur Match starts in 1 hr 12 mins ScheduleTable Upcoming6th Match • CAN PM Cup • Birgunj Match starts in 1 hr 12 mins ScheduleTable Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi Published: Mar 23, 2026, 2:07 AM (26 mins ago) Krunal Pandya: 'I sense that the next five years of cricket will be a golden period for me' Krunal Pandya was the player of the match in the IPL opener last year.

He would bookend the season with another POTM award in the final, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinch their first IPL title in 18 seasons.

He is the only player to be player of the match in IPL finals twice; the first time was in 2017 in Mumbai Indians' title win.

The 2025 season was Krunal's best in his decade-long IPL career - he finished as best fingerspinner in the tournament and collected his personal best bowling figures.

In this interview, Krunal speaks about growth, skills and his "ultimate goal".

When we spoke four years ago you were released by MI ahead of the 2022 auction and you said the reason any franchise should buy you is because "Krunal Pandya is a match-winner." In IPL 2025, Krunal Pandya was a consistent match-winner - you had the best season in your ten-year career.

How do you feel? Feels really good that whatever I said in 2022 has come out exactly the way I said it.

After 17 years of drought, and then in the 18th season, RCB winning the trophy and me being part of it - I had a decent, tiny contribution to their success - can't ask for more than this.

Going forward, I'm still hungry.

I feel like this is just the beginning.

There are different ways to announce yourself as a player in a new team.

First match, last IPL, in the tournament opener, you bowled a bouncer to a bare-headed Venkatesh Iyer.

I did bowl bouncers before as well, but not more than a couple in previous seasons.

But this IPL [2025], I was very clear that I wanted to use that as a weapon.

And it actually comes from a thought process [about] how cricket is evolving, how batsmanship overall is evolving, where the margin [of error] is so small, so as a bowler you have to keep adding new things, new varieties in your bowling and [seeing] how can you be one step ahead.

Patidar lauds Krunal's 'courage' after triple-wicket final over Krunal hits new highs in the IPL as RCB dream run continues Krunal Pandya is an IPL great even if you don't think he is So it was not that I just turned up and I bowled a bouncer.

It was a very well thought-out plan that I had made getting into the IPL, where I wanted to use that ball.

At the start of the season I told our spin-bowling coach Malolan [Rangarajan] that I want to get a wicket on my bouncer and that's my goal this year.

And in the very first game, I had the opportunity.

It's not something I planned, I just went with my gut feeling on when to bowl [the bouncer].

He [Venkatesh Iyer] had played six balls and got runs.

Left-hander batter, left-arm spinner, there is a match-up to go against.

So first ball, I thought he'll be expecting a yorker or a slow ball, normal ball, or a length ball so I decided let me just bowl a bouncer first ball.

He asked for the helmet and next ball I got his wicket.

I felt like a fast bowler (laughs).

That [bouncer plan] did work in my favour, but again, I was clever enough to use that.

I didn't overdo it.

When we were playing against MI, I was bowling to Will Jacks.

[My] second over, again.

That [Wankhede] wicket was flat.

So I went and bowled a wide yorker [to Jacks, second ball of the over].

Again, I bowled a wide yorker third ball.

And then my gut said that he's not expecting a bouncer over here, let me bowl that.

I bowled a bouncer and I got that wicket where Virat [Kohli] took the catch at deep square leg.

I was like, yes, I got a wicket on a bouncer, which sounds not so familiar when a spinner is bowling.

If you are not one step ahead in getting into the batsman's head, then it becomes slightly difficult.

Funnily, since then, I'm seeing the trend - so many spinners have started bowling bouncers, around the world, including in practice sessions.

Both Venkatesh and Rinku Singh played on in that KKR match.

Both were trying to hit against fast deliveries: about 101 kph and 103 kph deliveries respectively.

But you were not just darting balls.

Around 35% of your overall deliveries last IPL were below 90 kph and only around 12% above 100 kph.

One area where you consistently outsmarted batters was the variation of speed and your lengths.

Hundred per cent.

That was the key factor.

I did bowl a few balls in the IPL that were around 115, 118, 120 kph - the quicker balls.

Against MI, where I bowled the last over of the match, I bowled one ball somewhere around 115 or 118 kph and then, in the final against Punjab Kings, I dropped the speed to 84 kph to get Prabhsimran [Singh] out.

So it did help me to have that change of pace, and there was a drastic difference going from 88 kph to 110-115 kph.

As a spinner, if you have that liberty to vary your pace to that margin, it does help.

But what was key for me was when to bowl at what speed.

Like, when I was bowling in the final to Prabh, I thought, okay, I want to bowl slow and I want to go for a wicket.

And against MI, when I was bowling [at the] death, I was thinking to defend.

It's not just about pace variation, it's about how you read the situation of the game as well.

And according to that situation, what is required is important.

During the last IPL you spoke about bowling the wide yorker and bouncer as part of your armoury.

Is it fair to say you were thinking like a seamer and not a spinner, and were not shy about using these skills to your advantage? Agreed.

I'll give a lot of credit to Malolan.

What happens as a player is sometimes you know certain things will work for you but he gave me so much validity, and he pushed me [into] doing that.

He encouraged me to bowl slow and go for wickets, to bowl the bouncer.

He said if you feel like, you bowl a bouncer.

He backed me and trusted my understanding of the game to that level where it was like, you do whatever you want to do, don't back [out].

I'm okay with people saying, oh, he's someone who's a medium-pacer who can bowl slow and fast.

But I was still a classical left-arm spinner who got wickets.

Like Prabhsimran in the final - I bowled him a classical left-arm spinner's delivery, bowling slow to get that wicket.

A similar wicket was Riyan Parag when we played against Rajasthan Royals, where I got him out on a slower ball that he tried to sweep.

I have worked on my skillset also over a period of time, which has helped me gain that extra bounce.

If you compare my action in 2020-21 to now, there is a significant change: back then I used to be [delivering from the] corner of the crease, I had a longer stride.

And now I have become much taller in my action, so I have that bounce and I get some zip from the wicket.

So it's not just randomly coming and bowling a bouncer or a wide yorker.

When you want to bowl a bouncer, you have to be tall in your action.

If your stride is too long, it's very difficult to bowl a bouncer.

Also, you have to keep fitness in mind, because sometimes what happens is that you want to add new things to your [game] and your mind agrees, but your body doesn't allow it.

But if you are fit enough, then your body adapts to new things much faster from a skillset point of view.

To have a five-step run-up and bowl a bouncer is not an easy thing with that pace.

It's a combination of a lot of things: from fitness to me working on my action to [knowing] when to bowl and when not to bowl [a certain type of delivery].

Honestly, if you ask me: have I practised bowling a bouncer? I have not practised at all.

I only bowl in the games.

I don't practise in the nets.

Do I bowl yorkers? I don't bowl in the nets.

The only thing I do day in, day out with my....