One half of the Pandya brothers, all-rounder Krunal Pandya, celebrated his 33rd birthday when 2008 winners Rajasthan Royals (RR) locked horns with KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Sunday. Leaking 17 runs in his third over, pacer Mohsin Khan was rewarded with the crucial wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) after RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bat against LSG at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Introduced into the attack before the end of the powerplay, Krunal almost created a catching opportunity for himslef while attacking Riyan Parag. Bowling a back-of-length ball to Parag, the LSG spinner produced a leading edge for a return catch. However, Krunal was blocked by Sanju Samson, who was standing at the non-striker’s end. Krunal collided with Samson while attempting to take the catch. Though Samson got in the way of Krunal, the LSG spinner gave the RR skipper a hug to earn plaudits from the commentators.
‘Tremendous spirit because…’: Manjrekar lauds Krunal
“Oh dear, that’s unfortunate. I love the reaction from Krunal Pandya, tremendous spirit because he was going for that catch, and the batter had every right to stay where he was. He would have taken that catch,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on air during the IPL 2024 match.
RR share special message for Krunal
“It wasn’t deliberate, he wasn’t trying to obstruct the field. But in the end it worked out well for his teammate,” added Darren Ganga. “It’s just brilliant to see, something that happens instinctively tells you a lot about a person,” Manjrekar concluded. With Krunal’s gesture becoming a major hit on social media, Rajasthan Royals also posted a special post for Krunal.
Sublime Samson takes RR to 193
LSG spinner returned economical figures in the high-scoring match against Rajasthan. Pandya bowled four overs and leaked 19 runs. Top-scoring for RR in the fourth game of the IPL 2024, Samson played an unbeaten knock of 82 off 52 balls. RR skipper Samson smoked six sixes and three fours in his quick-fire knock against Rahul’s men. Samson (82*) and Dhruv Jurel (20*) guided RR to 193-4 in 20 overs.
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