Krunal Pandya Retired Hurt: What Happened to LSG Captain at Ekana Sports City Today?

Lucknow Super Giants captain Krunal Pandya wasn’t retired out but retired hurt in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023 Match 63 against Mumbai Indians. Pandya would’ve followed Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to become only the second cricketer to walk back to the pavilion without getting out but it wasn’t to be tonight.

Pandya, who took the onus upon himself in a big match, batted with utmost maturity. Even though the 32-year old player’s strike rate of 116.66 wasn’t at par according to modern-day standards, he did the exact of what was expected out of a No. 4 batter on a slow and sluggish Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium pitch tonight.

Having scored 49* (42) with the help of a four and six each, Pandya also didn’t care about completing an IPL half-century for the first time since 2016. Readers must note that it was an archetype selfless move considering the match situation.

Krunal Pandya Retired Hurt

Pandya, who walked back to the dugout after the 16th over, was spotted hobbling whilst running between the wickets twice in the same over. Perhaps having suffered cramps, the southpaw didn’t waste time before opting to put a break to his innings.

It is worth a mention that Pandya’s injury didn’t look very serious as he walked back to the dressing room (which included climbing the stairs) without any support from the medical staff. Hence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is seen leading the hosts and bowling in the second innings.

The ploy provided an opportunity to batter Nicholas Pooran (8*) with respect to providing a finishing touch to the innings. Having said that, LSG didn’t really require Pooran to go all guns blazing from the word go primarily due to all-rounder Marcus Stoinis‘ career-best IPL knock.

Coming in to bat at No. 5 right after the powerplay, Stoinis scored a thumping 89* (47) comprising four fours and eight sixes. On a surface which has mostly not allowed batters to play the big shots freely throughout the season, Stoinis batting at a strike rate of 189.36 was a chief reason behind Lucknow posting a formidable 177/3 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first by MI captain Rohit Sharma.