Rohit heaps praise on 'mature' Krunal

Krunal Pandya played the most important innings yet of his IPL career that turned out to be a crucial difference between Mumbai Indians winning and Rising Pune Supergiant losing the IPL-10 final here on Sunday night.

Krunal’s 38-ball 47 in a total of 129 for eight by eventual champions Mumbai earned him man of the final honours and plenty of praise from his skipper Rohit Sharma.   

“Krunal did a brilliant job,” said Rohit, talking about the Baroda all-rounder. “I think both Pandya brothers (Hardik being the other one) have something special about them. When you see them on the field, they are so excited to play the game, they show their emotions. They want to contribute in some or the other way. It's just not about bowling or batting. They contribute in fielding as well which is such a critical part in this format. Fielding plays such a crucial and important part. You can try and make an impact through fielding as well.

“Krunal has become mature now. Last year he was nervous to start with. Now he knows he is a core member of the squad. He just goes out and plays freely. He's got no pressure, but of course, if you drop the catch (of Ajinkya Rahane), there is a chance of coming back and bowling a good over. That's exactly what he did,” he elaborated.

Rohit also was impressed with Mitchell Johnson’s effort in the final over. The Aussie pulled back things after conceding a four off the first ball when 11 were needed off the over.

“He has done it for Australia and MI as well,” Rohit pointed out. “He has been in this atmosphere as well. I could happily rely on him when I needed him the most. The last over was critical because Steven Smith was set and batting really well. So is Dan Christian, he has played against him on a number of occasions. To have him throughout the season is fantastic. He’s been talking to younger bowlers, sharing his experience. All those things have helped our younger bowlers. You will hear (Jasprit) Bumrah talk about him in the future.”