Krunal Pandya (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya battled cramp on a difficult Raipur surface where stroke-making was tough during a thrilling IPL 2026 clash against Mumbai Indians in Raipur. Krunal anchored RCB’s tense chase with a fighting 73 while wickets fell regularly at the other end. The left-hander battled cramps in the second half of his innings and combined resilience with calculated aggression to keep RCB alive before Bhuvneshwar Kumar sealed a tense chase with a six in the final over.His innings was applauded by many fans, cricketers and former cricketers.
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Krunal Pandya opens the match winning game and RCB’s playoff runBut former Chennai Super Kings and India batsman Subramaniam Badrinath grabbed attention with a comment he made during the RCB vs MI match.As Krunal struggled with cramping pain and fell to the ground holding his leg during the game, Badrinath jokingly remarked that he would have thought about “letting him die”.“Look, he already had a cramp in his leg… as if the opposition said, Look, you’re going to die from that cramp!” – but it’s still okay (Rickleton helped him),” said Badrinath as he watched Krunal fall due to convulsions.Badrinath’s comment during the match did not go down well with the fans, the former cricketer faced criticism on social media.However, Badrinath later clarified the remark on social media. Explaining that his words were misunderstood due to colloquial Tamil usage, Subramaniam Badrinath wrote on X:“Let him die there”… that will not be my position. I’ll go and stretch him. Great gesture from Ryan Rickelton. Fair play points should go to him and MI for that.“That’s what I said on air, for people who don’t understand colloquial Tamil.
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After the RCB win, Krunal also spoke to the broadcasters.“Obviously afterwards the cramps were very, very painful. I mean it started with the calf, hamstrings, glutes and both legs. I had cramps,” Krunal said after the match. “But again, I was clear that I wasn’t going to go out. I’m going to fight through the pain and make sure that whatever I can contribute to the team, I’m going to do it.”“Also, it was a very, very important game for us. Especially at the end of the tournament, every game matters,” he said.“So it was absolutely clear that I was going to fight through that pain and make sure that in whatever way and in whatever way I could contribute, I would contribute to that.”
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What was the most impressive aspect of Krunal Pandya’s performance?
When asked how he was able to continue despite the severe cramps, Krunal said it was down to mentality and his ability to stay focused in pressure situations.“I mean, sheer will, I’ll say,” he said. “Again, if you see how I played my cricket after some time, I always played without giving up and I always appreciate those tough situations. It was sheer will and courage that I didn’t want to give up,” he added.
