While Hardik Pandya is failing to justify the all-rounder tag and is currently working on his fitness, his brother Krunal on the other hand seems to be doing the hard yards. Krunal’s all-round performance helped his side Baroda to secure a record victory against Tamil Nadu after scoring just a mere total of 114, in a Vijay Hazare Tournament 2021-22 match.
Eventually, Baroda managed to successfully defend the small total of 114 against Tamil Nadu. This is the second-lowest total successfully defended in a List A game in India (unaffected games). The lowest total still remains to be 82, scored by South Zone against North Zone back in 1993, played in Surat.
Gritty inning amidst batting collapse
Baroda batsmen seemed totally clueless against the Tamil Nadu bowlers in the Vijay Hazare fixture played in Mangalapuram. Only three Baroda batters – Krunal Pandya, Shashwat Rawat and Mitesh Patel – managed to reach the two-digit mark.
Out of all the Baroda players, only Krunal seemed to be calm and patient, with an aim to bat as long as possible instead of scoring quick runs. Krunal notched a hard-earned 38 from 82 deliveries. His innings comprised of three boundaries.
Tamil Nadu bowlers were on fire from the very beginning but lack of discipline in their bowling led to 25 extra runs, otherwise, the ultimate results could have easily gone in favour of Tamil Nadu.
In reply, Tamil Nadu batters looked nervous or the sight of a small total might have made them overconfident which eventually led to a shambolic batting display. Wickets kept on falling on one hand and on the other runs were not being scored either.
Krunal's spell in record bowling display
Tamil Nadu lost their first wicket in the fourth over of the match and lost half of their batsmen in the 12th over of the run chase. Krunal’s economical bowling display earned him two crucial wickets of opener Narayan Jagadeesan and Baba Indrajith. The left-arm spinner bowled five overs and conceded just 16 runs. Other bowlers – Bhargav Bhatt and Gurjindersingh Mann picked up two wickets each.
Eventually, Tamil Nadu were bundled out for just 73 runs. A 42-run victory against Tamil Nadu meant that Baroda claim the third spot in Elite Group B, bagging eight points from three matches. Tamil Nadu finish their Elite Group B fixtures at second spot with 12 points from five games.
