Pandya brothers open up after rocking Wankhede

IPL 2015 witnessed a young man from Baroda trying to make his mark in the cash-rich league whose name was Hardik Pandya. He impressed one and all with his all-round abilities. The right-handed all-rounder made a name for himself especially due to his big-hitting prowess with the bat. Enter 2016, his brother Krunal Pandya joined Hardik in the Mumbai Indians squad and proved that he’s no lesser than Hardik in terms of all-round ability.

Since last year, a team line-up of Mumbai Indians without the Pandya brothers is unimaginable. The last night at Wankhede was a prime example why the Pandya brothers are a force to reckon with for the Mumbai Indians. Krunal broke the backbone of Kolkata Knight Riders batting by taking the prized wickets of Gambhir, Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan while Hardik, against all odds, helped his team chase down an improbable target with his 11-ball 29.

The Pandya brothers complement each other on the field, if one fails to deliver with the bat, the other does it for him and vice versa with the ball. One rattles the opposition with his pace and the other bamboozles with his left-arm spin. In an interview with iplT20.com, two questioned each other after the match and here are few excerpts from a session with the dashing duo.

Hardik started off by questioning his elder brother about what he was going through when he was handed the new ball in the 5th over. He asked, “What was going through your mind when you were given the ball in the fifth over?”

Krunal replied by saying that he was confident about his abilities with the ball and was looking to vary his pace. He was also looking to rectify his mistakes from his first match in the IPL 2017. He replied,”I back myself in every game. Usually, on the Wankhede pitch, the ball comes nicely onto the bat and I was looking to vary my pace. Yes, in the last game I didn’t do too well and was going through the motions. I rectified those mistakes and executed my plans today and it went well.”

It was the elder brother’s turn to pose a question to his sibling. He enquired about what was his mindset when he walked in to bat with Mumbai Indians needing 60 off the last 4 overs. “When you went out to bat, MI needed 60 runs in under four overs. What was your plan? Let me tell you I was confident that you would finish the game.” asked Krunal.

Pandya replied by saying that he wasn’t pressurized by the situation apart from the first few balls. Hardik believed that he was one shot away from transferring all the pressure back to the Knight Riders bowlers. ” I wasn’t thinking much. I knew the bowlers would be under pressure. Yes, for a couple of balls I was under pressure as they were on top. Eventually, I knew that victory was just one shot away. I knew if I connect one, I will be able to put them under pressure and they will have to try out something new, something that they are not used to. I was lucky.” said Hardik

Hardik concluded by saying that when either one is batting, the other feels the pressure. Quoting the right-hander,”That is usually the story with us. When I bat, he feels the pressure and when he is batting, I am under pressure.”