IPL 2025: Great effort to restrict Punjab to 157 after the good start, says RCB's Krunal

New Chandigarh, April 20 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Krunal Pandya praised the effort of his bowlers and credited them for restricting Punjab Kings to 157/6 in 20 overs following a good start at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.

Invited to bat first, Punjab Kings were 62/1 at the end of the powerplay after quick-fire knocks from openers Priyansh Arya (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (33).

However, RCB bowlers brought them back in the back and dominated in the middle overs with Krunal and Suyash Sharma striking with two wickets each while remaining economical in their four overs.

"Pretty good effort. The way they started in powerplay, they put us under pressure. From that position to restrict them to 157 was a great effort," Krunal told broadcasters in the mid-innings break.

He further revealed that bowling at a slow pace made it difficult for batters to score.

"What I realised when the fast bowlers bowled, pace-on deliveries were much easier to face. I realised on this wicket, the slower you bowl, it's difficult for batters," he said.

"We have to bat really well. Powerplay becomes crucial. If we bat to our potential, we can chase this down," the all-rounder added.

After losing wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs, Shashank Singh and Marco Jansen contributed 31 and 25 respectively to take the side over the 150-run mark.

RCB will now rely on their batters to avenge their five-wicket loss against Punjab Kings at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

--IANS

ab/