IPL 2023: LSG captain Krunal Pandya laments leaking 20 extra runs as Hardik wins battle of brothers

Lucknow Super Giant’s stand-in captain Krunal Pandya feels had his side restricted Gujarat Titans under 200, they would have had a chance in the afternoon game in Ahmedabad in IPL 2023. Going down in a crucial clash against his brother Hardik Pandya’s team, LSG will now need to win their remaining matches to ensure a spot in the playoffs.

Batting first, Gujarat made light work of LSG’s bowling with the opening pair of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill adding 142 for the first wicket. While Saha made a stunning 81, Gill remained unbeaten on 94 as GT scored a mammoth 227 for two in 20 overs.

In their reply, LSG got off to a flyer too, with the man-in-form Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock – playing his first match this season – stitching 88 for the first wicket. However, despite having several power hitters in their ranks, LSG failed to keep the momentum going. 

With Mohit Sharma starring once again for the defending champions, having picked four for 29, LSG fell short of the target by 56 runs.

Speaking to the media after the loss, Krunal, who neither picked up a wicket nor contributed with runs, said, “Yes 100% agreed. We gave too many runs in the first innings. When it’s 227, you have to go hard every over. The surface played really well. The batters said it was a good wicket to bat on. Had we restricted them to 200-210, we would have had a chance.” 

As mentioned by Hardik during the toss, how emotional a moment it is for the Pandya family and that their dad would have been so proud of this, Krunal echoed the same feelings after the game. He thanked God for this moment and said his mother was also happy at the end of the day. 

In the first innings, Krunal caught Hardik at the covers and said he would keep reminding him of the same later.

“God has been kind to us, our family is proud, Mom is happy. She said at the end of the day, two points will come home only. There is so much love between me and Hardik, there’s hardly any banter. I can tell him about that (the catch), definitely,” Krunal said after the game.