Virat Kohli reserved special praise for Krunal Pandya after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday. Despite being dismissed for a golden duck himself, Kohli called Krunal’s battling 73 one of the best pressure knocks he has seen in the IPL.
RCB’s chase of 167 had earlier almost collapsed at 39/3 Krunal dragged the side back into the match with a fearless innings despite battling severe cramps in the final overs. Kohli admitted in the RCB dressing room after the match that the team struggled badly on the surface but praised Krunal for refusing to buckle under pressure.
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Virat Kohli once again takes charge of the dressing room.
Acknowledging every performance that helped us cross the line, he mentions KP’s batting and Bhuvi’s skills with bat and ball. Check out these healthy moments after yesterday’s win. #PlayBold #RCB #IPL2026 #RCBvMI pic.twitter.com/StePG5uXCb— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 11, 2026
“I think it’s the best ideal knock. We’ve played a lot of knocks under pressure as far as I’ve seen, but I think tonight was special,” Kohli said during his dressing room address.
“We fight the bounce balls that hit you, we stay low, you bounce up, but you never talked. You just showed us how to grind, how to hang in there, find a solution, find a way.”
Kohli particularly highlighted the moment when Krunal, despite physical exertion, he still found the strength to attack in the dying overs.
“And even though you were cramping, those two sixes were actually the difference in the game where you could have easily said I can’t continue but you found the strength to continue going forward. We can take a lot of inspiration from that,” Kohli added.
The praise came after one of the most dramatic finishes to IPL 2026. RCB looked completely out of the race after losing Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar at the start of the Powerplay. This season, Bengaluru have not won a single match after losing two or more wickets in the Powerplay.
However, Krunal first settled the innings alongside Jacob Bethell before gradually shifting gears as wickets kept falling around him.
HOW KRUNAL PANDYA HELPED RCB BEAT ME
Krunal’s innings was not built on reckless hitting.
Instead, it was about first surviving a difficult phase and then finding ways to keep RCB alive deep into the chase.
The all-rounder scored 73 off 46 balls, smashing four boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 158.70. But the most important phase of his innings probably came when the cramps started to bother him badly in the final overs.
At one point, Krunal visibly struggled to run between the wickets and repeatedly stretched between deliveries.
Still, he managed to blast AM Ghazanfar for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over, shots that eventually became decisive in the context of the chase.
Even after Krunal’s dismissal, the game still needed some late drama.
Jasprit Bumrah played a sensational 19th over to drag Mumbai back into the contest before Bhuvneshwar Kumar smashed a decisive six in the final over.
Rasikh Salam Dar eventually completed the winning second run off the final ball to seal a memorable victory for RCB.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
May 11, 2026 5:31 PM IST
