Royal Challengers Bengaluru may have lifted the IPL trophy two years running, yet the spotlight rarely settled on Rasikh Salam and Krunal Pandya. The pair quietly stacked up numbers – and moments – that proved decisive long before the confetti fell on Sunday night.
First, the headline facts. Salam finished the season with 19 wickets, four more than Josh Hazlewood, while conceding 9.45 an over. Krunal delivered 14 wickets at 8.41, and with the bat chipped in 226 runs at 37.66, striking at 145.80. Stats only tell part of it, though; context gives them colour.
Salam’s big final
Gujarat Titans appeared to be rebuilding in the final when Salam ended Nishant Sindhu’s stay with the last ball of his second over. The right-armer later threatened a hat-trick, closing with 3 for 27 – economy 6.75 if you prefer numbers to adjectives.
“I think he has done his job throughout the season in a very quiet fashion, but he has given them that stability of that third seamer,” Varun Aaron said of Salam on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “He has picked up wickets, which is most important in today’s game. Again, he does it today [in the final]. Three wickets in the final at an economy of under seven [6.75] – you’d take that any given day.”
That “third seamer” tag matters. In T20 cricket, sides usually rotate two new-ball specialists, then ask a third quick to plug the gaps later on. Salam filled that slot in 12 of RCB’s 16 outings, completing his full four-over quota eight times.
“I think the fourth seamer is generally somebody who is more defensive,” Aaron added. “He has a good yorker, [and] bowls a really good slower ball. Bowls a couple of good slower balls. Bowls the knuckle [ball]. Bowls [from the] back of the hand. So he comes in in that role, and also picks up wickets. With the way IPL is going now, being defensive is almost offensive.”
Tom Moody pointed out that situations had been set up nicely for Salam by more established names.
“He’s not coming in and having to break the game open – because the game is already open,” Moody said. “He then comes in and does what he does exceptionally well – great changes of pace. So he’s a perfect foil for the spearheads they’ve got at the top.”
Krunal’s all-round value
If Salam brought control, Krunal offered options – lots of them. Five IPL titles (three with Mumbai Indians, two now with RCB) and 158 matches lend weight to Moody’s assessment.
“You’re looking for packages like him. Not just a bowler, he’s a top-six batter [as well],” Moody said of Krunal. “He’s a batter that plays well under pressure. He has got a bank of experience. So he’s an unbelievable package.”
With the ball Krunal mixed up pace and trajectory, even slipping in the odd bouncer – a rarity for a finger-spinner. With the bat he toggled between busy middle-overs rotation and late-innings muscle.
“I think he’s mentally very skilful because he knows who to bowl which ball to, which is very important,” Aaron said. “He knows w” – the sentence drifted off, but the sentiment was clear: Krunal reads the game quickly and backs the call.
Numbers in perspective
RCB’s frontline attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hazlewood and Jacob Duffy often hogged the pre-match graphics, yet Salam out-wicketed two of them. Krunal, meanwhile, occupied that useful space between power-play aggression and death-over chaos – delivering left-arm spin one moment, pinch-hitting the next.
Both players underline a broader truth about T20 campaigns: championships are rarely won solely by franchise-headliners. Depth and adaptability matter. A third seamer who can defend, or a spinning all-rounder who balances the XI, turns a strong side into a repeat champion.
Final thoughts
Neither Salam nor Krunal is likely to dominate the off-season billboards. They probably prefer it that way. Their work arrived in controlled four-over bursts and compact 30-ball cameos – the unflashy glue that lets the larger pieces shine. RCB supporters will remember the trophies; the dressing-room, one suspects, will remember who kept the machine ticking when the cameras panned elsewhere.
