SRH owner Kavya Maran accuses RCB's Krunal Pandya of chucking; watch video

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Krunal Pandya has developed a few variations to counter the fearless batters in modern T20 cricket. He uses the crease, bowls well behind to outfox batters, bowls bouncers, yorkers, everything. On May 22, in a high-scoring contest, the left-arm spinner against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Krunal used all the weapons in his arsenal to counter the in-form batters. At one point, as Krunal hit the deck hard against Nitish Kumar Reddy, SRH owner Kavya Maran made a chucking gesture. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Kavya can be seen saying or asking whether the left-arm spinner is chucking.

Krunal was held back by skipper Rajat Patidar for first half of the innings as Ishan Kishan was operating in the middle. With Heinrich Klaasen new to the crease, he handed the ball to Krunal. In his first over, he was hit for a six but bowled two dot balls to Klaasen, conceding just eight runs. He was taken off the attack only to bowl the 17th over. On the second ball of the over, he got the wicket of Klaasen. A low arm delivery got the better of the Proteas wicketkeeper-batter who scored 51 runs from 24 deliveries.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli refuses post-match handshake with Travis Head after on-field tussle; video goes viral

In the same over, he was hit for two consecutive sixes by Reddy. The incident where Kavya questioned the legitimacy of Krunal's action was after the spinner bowled the last ball of the 17th over.

ALSO READ: Massive blow to KKR's playoff hopes, star player ruled out of IPL 2026 ahead of DC clash

SRH batters go berserk

Despite that, SRH managed to post a mammoth total of 255/4 on the board after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. Abhishek Sharma, Kishan and Klaasen scored half-centuries whereas Travis Head and Reddy contributed with cameos. Kishan was the top run-scorer with 79 runs from 46 balls, featuring eight fours and three sixes.

Big win for SRH but no Qualifier 1 spot

In the run chase, RCB seemed more focused on ensuring they finish on top and SRH don't reach Qualifier 1. They posted 200/4 on the board and faced a 55-run defeat. Venkatesh Iyer scored a 19-ball 44, skipper Patidar scored a 39-ball 56 whereas Krunal remained unbeaten for a 31-ball 41.