Krunal Pandya was up against his own body. Cramps had begun to spread from his hamstring to his glutes. His legs had tightened to the point where even running singles had become an ordeal. At that stage, though, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) didn't need ones, they needed sixes. Krunal had to go for broke. But it was easier said than done.
"It was very, very painful," he said at the post-match press conference after his 46-ball 73 knocked Mumbai Indians (MI) out of the playoffs race at IPL 2026. "I was very clear that I'm not going to go out. I'll fight through that pain."
That stubbornness was down to willpower as well as self-belief, and led to an an effort that was "right up there" with some of his best. And there are many of those.
Like his match-turning 38-ball 47 - the top score of the match - in the 2017 final against Rising Pune Supergiant. Or the unbeaten 73* against Delhi Capitals (DC) last year. Or, in last year's final, his epic spell that turned the tables on Punjab Kings (PBKS).
On a Raipur surface that was slow, uneven and offered variable bounce, the innings was vital. Batting, Krunal said, required "cricketing shots" and the discipline to stay one step ahead of the bowlers.
RCB knew this because they had fielded first, and limiting MI to 166, which was just half the job done. And the other half hadn't started well. By the time Krunal walked out, RCB were 39 for 3 in the sixth over - Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar all gone. And Deepak Chahar was making the ball hoop around, much like Bhuvneshwar Kumar had earlier in the evening.
Yet, Krunal resisted the temptation to retreat into survival mode. He first stabilised the innings, and then identified scoring pockets and took some risks because Jacob Bethell was struggling for timing after the powerplay - he didn't score a single boundary after the first over until the 13th, which was also when he perished.
Then, when his body stopped allowing him to run freely, he had to change his game.
So much so that he decided to face all six deliveries in a single over at the death.
Chahar had just conceded six runs off the 17th over that left RCB needing 30 from 18. Then, AM Ghazanfar began with a dot ball. Krunal hacked the next ball towards long-on, where Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma fluffed a relay catch. Fortunately for MI, Dhir hadn't stepped onto the rope, and Krunal hadn't moved thinking it was a six. But when Tilak's fumble allowed the ball to trickle away, a single was there for the taking. Krunal refused it, even though it would have put on strike Romario Shepherd, six-hitter supreme. Sure, Krunal's legs were giving up, but his refusal to run the single was also because he had already mapped the next few deliveries in his mind.
"We've discussed that if there's one bowler you fancy and feel you can take down, just play out those six balls properly," Krunal revealed. "In that situation, I was set. I was in. And I realised it was becoming very difficult for me to run ones and twos because of the cramps. So I thought, 'okay, let me just stand and face all six balls' and capitalise on whatever I can."
And capitalise he did, clobbering two sixes.
It was a telling insight. Even in pain, Krunal was problem-solving for RCB.
He credited much of that clarity to Dinesh Karthik, whose influence within the RCB set-up continues to be talked up. Krunal spoke glowingly about the work Karthik had done individually with the batters over the last two seasons.
"If you look at last year and even this year, despite the ups and downs, a lot of credit goes to DK," he said. "He has spent a lot of individual time with each player, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and working on them. He's always there for the batters. So yes, there's no doubt a lot of credit goes to DK for how we've batted as a unit."
Krunal's own method has been forged over years of occupying almost every role imaginable in the IPL. He has batted everywhere from No. 3 to No. 8. Sometimes, he goes through a stretch of games without having to put on his pads. At other times, he is tasked with rescuing a stuttering chase. While this wildly unpredictable pattern can be frustrating, Krunal thrives on it.
"I feel good that the team trusts me to do different roles," he said. "Whenever I bat, I ask myself what the situation is and what the team needs at that moment. I've never focused on personal milestones. I always try to understand the team situation and how to approach it in the simplest way possible.
"And honestly, however tough the situation is, somewhere I enjoy it."
Three nights ago in Lucknow, Krunal saw RCB pipped at the finishing line. He was struggling on 9 off 10 balls at one point, with RCB needing 63 in the last four overs. Although he found his hitting form later, it wasn't enough as RCB lost by nine runs. A failed chase on Sunday would have made it a third straight loss.
"I obviously hate losing, but I'd say I'm a graceful loser," he said. "I love winning, but even when I lose, I have the grace to accept it and think about how I can get better and move forward. That effort to improve has always been there in my life, not just as a cricketer, but as a person.
"When you go through that process, things automatically fall into place because you always carry the attitude of wanting to improve and wanting to win."
After speaking about tactics, cramps and batting plans, his thoughts turned to those who shaped him, his "support system": his wife and his mother, and his father, who died in 2021. "The more I do well, the more humble I become as a person."
Krunal wasn't just thinking about old relationships and memories. Earlier, minutes after the game was over, he shared a long embrace with Kieron Pollard - a friend, mentor and one of the pillars of MI's golden era, of which Krunal was also a part.
"Polly is my big brother," Krunal said. "My best six years were at MI. The Pandya brothers and Polly… we were the engine room. We won so many games together with bat, ball and fielding. I still remember in 2021, when we were playing our last game together, the three of us held each other's hands and felt like, 'okay, this is probably the last time we'll play together'."
By now, his voice had begun to choke with emotion. "I love Kieron Pollard. He's a terrific human being. A GOAT of this format. He's won so many trophies and games. And Polly always used to tell me, 'you can't keep a good man down'."
Those words felt particularly poignant on a night when Krunal battled not just the opposition and the conditions, but his own body, to help RCB top the table.