The Other Pandya: An IPL Match-Winner Par Excellence

• Krunal Pandya starred again in the IPL with a match-winning knock against MI

• Hardik Pandya’s career has dipped since leaving Gujarat Titans for Mumbai Indians

• Krunal stayed consistent in IPL but never became a regular for India

There was a time when the Pandya brothers felt inseparable in Indian cricket. Hardik brought the swagger, pace, and finishing ability. Krunal brought control, balance, and consistency. But somewhere over the last few years, the spotlight became completely one-sided. Hardik became one of India’s biggest white-ball stars, while Krunal quietly kept doing the hard work in the IPL without receiving the same attention.

Yet on Sunday night during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s dramatic win over Mumbai Indians, it was the “other Pandya” who once again walked away as the match-winner.

The 35-year-old produced a stunning 73 off 46 balls against his former franchise, anchoring RCB’s tense chase of 167 and guiding them to a thrilling last-ball victory. Battling cramps and pressure at the same time, Krunal held the innings together while wickets kept falling around him. Ironically, on the other side, Hardik Pandya wasn’t even part of the MI playing XI as injuries and poor form continued to define a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign for Mumbai.

Hardik Pandya’s Career Has Slowed Down Since Leaving Gujarat Titans

Just a few years ago, the younger Pandya looked untouchable in franchise cricket. After being released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2022 mega auction, he was appointed captain of the newly-formed Gujarat Titans. What followed felt like a perfect script.

The 32-year-old led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022 and followed it up with another final appearance in 2023. Under his leadership, GT became one of the smartest and calmest sides in the tournament. Hardik himself looked like the complete T20 cricketer, scoring runs in pressure situations, bowling regularly, and leading from the front.

But things have changed rapidly since his return to Mumbai Indians.

The move back to MI before IPL 2024 created massive noise. He replaced Rohit Sharma as captain, faced crowd backlash throughout the season, and never truly looked settled again. Since then, injuries, inconsistent performances, and leadership pressure have combined to create one of the toughest phases of his career.

Mumbai’s 2026 season completely fell apart. Hardik failed to deliver individual performances and missed multiple games due to fitness issues, while MI crashed out of playoff contention after another inconsistent campaign. Numbers this season also highlighted his declining impact with both bat and ball. Hardik managed only 146 runs in eight innings in IPL 2026 with no fifty and a strike rate of just 136.44.

Krunal Pandya Has Quietly Been One of IPL’s Most Reliable Match-Winners

While Hardik’s graph has dipped recently, Krunal has continued doing what he has done for nearly a decade, deliver in big moments.

Krunal may never have possessed Hardik’s explosiveness or pace-bowling value, but as an IPL cricketer, he has been remarkably consistent. Whether it was with Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants, or now Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he has repeatedly shown his ability to influence games with both bat and ball.

He was a key figure in Mumbai Indians’ golden era, often acting as the glue in the middle overs alongside Kieron Pollard and Hardik himself. In the 2017 IPL final, Krunal’s counterattacking 47 under pressure against Rising Pune Supergiant earned him the Player of the Match award and helped MI win the title.

Even statistically, Krunal’s IPL numbers are highly underrated.

Across more than 150 IPL matches, he has scored over 1,800 runs and taken more than 100 wickets while maintaining a solid economy rate for a finger spinner in an era dominated by batters. He recently became one of the few players in IPL history to complete the double of 1000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets.

His value goes beyond numbers too. Krunal has always been tactically smart. He adapts quickly to surfaces, changes pace cleverly, and understands pressure situations extremely well. That is why franchises continue trusting him despite younger and flashier options emerging every season.

Even during RCB’s title-winning 2025 campaign, Krunal played a massive role, taking 17 wickets and even winning Player of the Match in the final with figures of 2/17.

Why Krunal Never Became a Long-Term India Regular

The strange thing about Krunal’s career is that he probably arrived in the wrong era.

India has consistently produced spin-bowling all-rounders in white-ball cricket, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and several others. Competition for those spots has always been brutal. Krunal, despite being effective, never managed to separate himself enough to become indispensable.

Hardik, meanwhile, offered something Indian cricket rarely produces, a genuine fast-bowling all-rounder who could finish games with the bat. That skillset automatically made him more valuable to the national side.

If Krunal had been a seam-bowling all-rounder instead of a left-arm spinner, there is every chance his international career would have looked completely different.

And it’s not like he failed for India either.

Krunal represented India in five ODIs and 19 T20Is, scoring useful lower-order runs and picking wickets regularly. He even recorded the fastest ODI fifty by a debutant for India when he smashed an unbeaten 58 against England in Pune in 2021. His international T20 economy rate remained impressive throughout his short career.

But opportunities gradually dried up because India simply had too many similar options available.

How did Krunal Pandya perform against Mumbai Indians?

Krunal Pandya played a match-winning 73-run knock for RCB against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026.

Why was Krunal Pandya never a regular for India?

Heavy competition among India’s spin-bowling all-rounders limited Krunal’s opportunities in the national team.