The photo said it all. A reddish bruise, raw and alive, sitting on Krunal Pandya’s stomach, a souvenir of the blows he absorbed during his 73-ball 46 against Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Saturday.
“Some scars are proof it was worth the fight,” he captioned it on Instagram, hours after RCB’s decisive win. The post went viral within minutes. Those watching the game live needed no explanation. RCB vs MI: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Screengrab from Krunal Pandya’s Instagram
RCB were reeling at 39 for 3 in the sixth overhe chased 167 on a pitch that stalled and bounced in equal measure. The top order crumbled after Virat Kohli went for a duck, Rajat Patidar’s pull leading to a top catch from a hard delivery that kept him in spasms in the last second. Promoted to No.5, Krunal came in and started his game, finding angles, disrupting the bowlers’ rhythms and refusing to let RCB’s chase die.
What he didn’t count on was his own body refusing to cooperate.
Cramps started mid-shift – first through the hamstrings, then spread to the glutes. On a pitch that punished any error in footwork, Krunal’s legs began to drift apart beneath him. At one point he collapsed and fell to the ground in agony. Ryan Rickelton, the goalkeeper of Mumbai Indians – technically the opposition – came forward and helped him up. A small moment of sportsmanship in the midst of a fiercely contested game.
Most other batsmen might have called a physio and quietly accepted the situation. Krunal hit sixes instead.
When MI brought in Allah Ghazanfar in the 18th over with 30 to spare from 17 balls, the spin started on a full stop. Then, with convulsions visibly gripping him, Krunal unleashed two sixes in three balls off Ghazanfar, falling to the floor in pain after each one, then somehow picked himself up and did it again. Stunned into something approaching reverence, the Raipur crowd roared on both occasions.
By the time he was dismissed for 73, he single-handedly took charge of a chase that seemed lost and put RCB in a position where Bhuvneshwar Kumar could complete the job with a six in the final over off Arjun Bawa.
RCB clawed their way out in a last-ball thriller, needing two off the last delivery, which Rasikh Salam slotted over the bowler’s outstretched arm to win by two wickets.
After the match, Krunal talked about what keeps him going at such times. “I hate losing, but I’m a very graceful loser. If I lose, I have the stomach to take it and find ways to improve,” he said. “When you play cricket, you realize you have more bad days than good days. It obviously makes you humble in sport and in life.”
He also made a difference to the people around him. “A lot of credit goes to my wife who has been a pillar of strength. My mom too. And I always remember my dad – he’s gone but he’ll be happy if I’m doing well,” Krunal said. “The more successful I become, the more humble I become as a person.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
11 May 2026 15:55 IST
