Krunal Pandya scored a historic half-century, fastest on debut, in the first ODI match against England in Pune on Tuesday. 1st ODI Blog | News | Scorecard
Krunal became so emotional at the post match interview with the broadcasters that he couldn’t complete a sentence and broke down remembering his father who died in January this year after suffering a heart attack.
The 30-year-old Krunal was handed the India cap by his younger brother and star all-rounder Hardik. It was an an emotional match for both the brothers who were seen hugging each other even after the match.
When Krunal walked back, Hardik was there at the ropes to welcome him.
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Krunal came in when India needed some big hitting and along with KL Rahul didn’t disappoint. His 31-ball 58 which included seven fours and two sixes along with KL Rahul’s 62 helped India reach 317/5.
He reached the half century mark in just 26 balls, overtaking John Morris (35 balls) of New Zealand.
"This one is for my father," was all that Krunal could speak when asked about his knock by commentator Murali Kartik. He was enveloped by Hardik in a tight hug soon after.
For Krunal, the last three months have been an emotional roller-coaster.
In January, he had an ugly tiff with state-mate Deepak Hooda who accused the Baroda captain of bullying him during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy camp.
Hooda left the camp after that and was subsequently suspended for the entire season by the Baroda team management, which backed Krunal on the matter.
Weeks after the controversy, Krunal lost his father Himanshu and had to leave the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy bio-bubble to be with his family.
