Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Krunal Pandya said taking time off to work on his bowling has put him in a good head space and given him a lot of clarity. (More Cricket News)
Krunal starred with the bat and the ball in LSG's five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match on Friday.
"This year I'm in a good headspace. Once you have clarity up there, things fall in places. I'm very process-driven, don't think about results," he said at the post match presentation.
"I took a break from cricket for a few months because I was just playing the white-ball formats, so wanted some time off to work on my bowling."
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Krunal snapped three wickets giving away 18 runs before playing a vital 34-run knock.
"What happened last two-three years was I kept getting wider and wider. Whatever I did in the last 3-4 months -- getting taller and getting the ball to turn away, it is all coming out really well."
He dismissed SRH skipper Aiden Makram with a lovely spinning delivery which hit the off stump. "People say I don't turn the ball, so that answers it I guess (Markram wicket). I'm trying to recollect how I played in the first 4-5 years in IPL where I was batting at four for MI. Trying to find that rhythm and consistency. Having the clarity helps," said Krunal.
No brainer to bring in spinner early
Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul said it was a "no brainer" to bring in spin early after seeing the conditions.
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Rahul introduced spin early in the game as his slow bowlers, led by Krunal, wrecked havoc.
"We've been here for a couple of weeks now and knew what we were getting into (nature of the pitch)," Rahul said.
"Even when Jaydev (Unadkat)bowled a few cutters, it was gripping. So it was a no-brainer to bowl spin early. I knew KP's (Krunal) better in the powerplay." Rahul said his side's batters have adapted well to the conditions at the Ekana Stadium.
"First instinct when I saw both pitches was that we'll need to bat smartly here. We've adapted well as a batting unit."
Veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who grabbed two wickets and took a marvellous catch, said he bowled slower to limit the runs.
"I am feeling good. I have done a lot of hard work on my bowling and fielding. I was just trying to vary my pace, and bowl slower. I know if I bowl faster it is easy to score for the batters. I try to vary my bowling. I try to do everything efficiently."
Talking about the red soil, he said it aided the spinners.
"I think the red soil has more bounce and less spin. I can’t say much about the black soil. It is keeping low but not turning much."
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SRH skipper Aiden Makram felt his side were a good 30-40 runs short as they were unable to stitch substantial partnerships.
"Not enough runs, tried to get to 150-160 but lost too many wickets and didn’t get any momentum going. We realised it wasn’t going to be a great wicket to bat in terms of history, but we were happy to fight. They bowled brilliantly according to the conditions."
