Krunal Pandya
In November last year, Hardik Pandya cheekily responded to a question on India's all-rounder issue in ODI format after India's defeat to Australia, saying that the management can "look in the Pandya family". For months hence, Hardik handed elder brother Krunal, his ODI cap in Pune, for the series opener against England and the senior had an eventful day at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, smashing a 31-ball unbeaten 58 en route to breaking a world record.
After Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli set the momentum with their century stand, England looked to crawl back reducing India from 169 for 1 in the 32nd over to 205 for 5 in the 41st over. But just when India seemed to have lost their way around, Krunal combined with KL Rahul to stitch a sensational century stand, lifting India's fortunes in thunderous fashion.
Krunal smashed seven boundaries and two sixes in his 31-ball stay while Rahul, who headed to the ODI series on the back of a poor T20I outing, ramped four boundaries and as many maximums in his 43-ball 62.
As astounding and aggressive his knock, encouraging himself after every boundary that he scored, Krunal was left in tears when asked about his maiden half-century.
"This one is for my dad. I did get emotional," said Krunal as tried to hold back tears.
Krunal's father, Himanshu Pandya, passed away earlier this year due to cardiac arrest.
