5 Matches Which Prove that Pandya Brothers Are Built for Pressure

In cricket, the brother bond has been seen across various nations, such as Steve and Mark Waugh for Australia, Michael and David Hussey for Australia, Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, Ian and Greg Chappell for England, and many more. Earlier, the Indian team was bolstered with the inclusion of Pathan brothers, Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan. These players have dominated with both bat and ball, marking their brotherhood as a legacy for Indian cricket.

Among all the brother duos that have been named above, none of them showcased clutch-level performances more as compared to the Pandya brothers. Both Krunal and Hardik have been able to step up for their respective teams in the situations where they needed the most and were also able to turn the match upside down with their performances. Let’s have a look at five matches when the Pandya brothers showed their clutch genes and changed the game.

T20 World Cup 2024 Final

The T20 World Cup 2024 final match against South Africa, when India ended its ICC trophy drought, many claimed Virat Kohli to be the real match winner for the team. Although he did win the POTM award for his magnificent half-century, it would not have been India winning the match if Hardik Pandya hadn’t come in the end to clutch the situation.

In the first innings, Hardik Pandya got to play just two balls but still capitalised on them and scored 5 runs. However, the Indian spinners had a bad day, with the Proteas batters, Heinrich Klaasen in particular, were bashing them all around the ground. Looking at the situation, Captain Rohit Sharma gave the 17th over to Hardik Pandya, where South Africa needed 26 runs off 24 balls.

Klaasen, who was well set at the crease and had completed his half-century, lost his wicket on the very first ball, which changed the game for the Indian team. He also bowled the last over, when South Africa needed 16 runs. In the first ball, he dismissed the dangerous man David Miller, which was made possible by an important catch by Suryakumar Yadav.

Indian fans still can’t forget the lines of Jatin Sapru saying, “Ek Akhiri Mauka, Hardik Pandya. Long off.. Long off… Long off! Suryakumar Yadav ne pakda apne career ka sabse important catch.” But it is not just SKY who played a crucial role in this catch, it was also the role of Hardik Pandya, who took the important wicket. Pandya bowled 3 overs in the final over and took 3 wickets, conceding just 20 runs.

IPL 2022 Final

Hardik Pandya has been the clutch god for the Indian team as an all-rounder, but he has also played various clutch innings in the Indian Premier League. Leading the new team, Gujarat Titans in its inaugural season, he established new heights of dominance, as the team finished at the top of the points table and also reached the finals.

In the final match, Gujarat Titans went against Rajasthan Royals, as Pandya was just one step away from winning his first IPL as a captain. Winning the toss in the final match at Ahmedabad, Rajasthan decided to bat first, and the team also had a good start, according to the pitch conditions, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler scoring easily against the GT bowlers.

When other bowlers failed to grab wickets, the captain came to play. He started by dismissing Sanju Samson in the 9th over. But this was just the beginning, and he knew that the job was still not done. Hardik Pandya went on to take two more crucial wickets, dismissing Jos Buttler (39 runs off 35 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (11 runs off 12 balls). These players could have changed the game for GT if the captain hadn’t dismissed them.

Restricting the Rajasthan Royals to a score of 130, the job was half done by the captain. But he also decided to contribute with the bat, as GT lost two wickets in the first five overs of the game. Hardik went on to score 34 runs off 30 balls before losing his wicket to Chahal, but he did his work well. Gujarat Titans went on to lift the title, as Hardik received the POTM award for his clutch innings.

IPL 2017 Final

Not only did Hardik Pandya perform a clutch innings in the IPL final, but his brother Krunal Pandya was also able to step up under pressure for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2017 final match. Mumbai Indians went against Rising Pune Supergiants in the final clash, being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Mumbai was able to win the toss as the captain, Rohit Sharma, decided to bat first, although he regretted the decision later. They did have a poor start to the innings, losing both openers in the third over, and the run rate also stood very low. Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma also tried their best to build up a partnership, but both lost their wickets as the team stood down at 56 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.

However, before Hardik Pandya could come on the crease, Krunal decided to take charge of handling the RPS bowlers. He played a fine knock of 47 runs off 38 deliveries with 3 fours and 2 sixes, and stayed on the crease till the last ball. This helped the Mumbai Indians to end their innings at the score of 129 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.

What looked like an easy chase didn’t come out well for Rising Pune Supergiants even after a good start. The team fell short of the target by just 1 run, allowing Mumbai Indians to win their third IPL title, but it definitely wouldn’t have been possible for them if Krunal didn’t play a fine knock in the first innings. He was also given the POTM award, being the first of the Pandya brothers to be the most valuable player in the IPL final.

RCB vs DC, IPL 2025

When the clutch-powered knocks of the Pandya brothers are being talked about, how can we forget the iconic clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals, which took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium? After suffering a loss at their home ground and KL Rahul doing the Kantara celebration, it was not just Virat Kohli and RCB fans who wanted revenge, as Krunal also joined the list.

Winning the toss and looking at the pitch conditions, RCB decided to bowl first, as they already had the chase master, King Kohli, in their team. Their bowlers were able to give some tremendous performances, restricting Delhi Capitals to a total score of 162 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 3 wickets as Josh Hazlewood settled with 2.

Coming out to chase, RCB surely didn’t get a good start, as the team lost consecutive wickets in the form of Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar. Since the team was 3 down at the score of 26, Krunal Pandya decided to join the party with Virat Kohli to chase down the score. Later, they also had a partnership of 119 runs, with both scoring a half-century.

Kohli got out at the score of 51, but Krunal went on with his impressive batting style and helped RCB to win the match by 6 wickets. Scoring 73 runs off 47 balls and also taking a wicket in his bowling spell, he played a clutch knock in this game. This match showed the RCB fans that they can rely on Krunal when it comes to clutch situations.

IPL 2025 Final

In a historic final of the TATA IPL 2025, when two teams had the opportunity to end their trophy drought after 17 years, Krunal Pandya showcased his clutch genes yet again for RCB. This was a high-stakes match, and after losing the toss, RCB was sent to bat first. Punjab Kings thought it to be better to chase, as they won the previous match against Mumbai while chasing.

Fortunately, all of the batters from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru were able to contribute well to the team’s score, as the team finished with 190 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Virat Kohli was the highest scorer with 43 runs, but Krunal Pandya failed to shine with the bat this time and scored just 4 runs off 5 balls.

But the match was still not over, the bowlers now had to restrict Pthe BKS batsmen below the target for the historic win. With the first wicket falling in the powerplay, RCB wanted to take down the wickets quickly and even slow the run rate. For this, Captain Rajat Patidar brought Krunal Pandya, as he started by taking the wicket of Prabhsimran Singh in the 9th over.

Continuing his momentum, Pandya maintained the run rate for RCB and eventually put down more pressure on PBKS, which led to Josh Inglis losing his wicket. He was also active on the field, taking the much-needed catch of Nehal Wadhera, who could’ve changed the scenario. Krunal ended the final match with figures of 2/17, at an economy rate of 4.25. These figures helped RCB to win its maiden title, as Krunal became the only player to get POTM in IPL finals twice.

These innings show the clutch genes that are inherited in the Pandya brothers, as they make sure to step up at the times when their teams are struggling.