Watch: "This is for my dad" Krunal Pandya Breaks Down Into Tears During Interview After Scoring Fifty

“This one is for my dad” said an emotional Krunal Pandya (58* off 31 balls) as he literally broke down during an interview with the host broadcaster following his brilliant counter-attacking knock in his debut ODI for Team India.

It was an emotional moment for the Pandya brothers- Hardik and Krunal, who lost their father in January. As soon as Krunal came off the field, Hardik enveloped his elder brother in a bear hug.

Krunal Pandya made his One-Day International debut for Team India during the first match in Pune and he couldn’t have chosen a better moment to play an innings that his father would be very proud of.

The Pandya senior had come to the middle following the dismissal of Hardik and with Team India reeling from back-to-back dismissals of the likes of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya, the home side desperately needed a blinder from both him and as well as KL Rahul.

Fastest 50 in a debut match for #KrunalPandya. What a man! Hardik's reaction has my heart. Be super Proud.❤?#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/d2fv8hTZyR

— UrMiL07™ (@urmilpatel30) March 23, 2021

And, that is exactly what they got as Krunal Pandya launched a stunning assault on the English bowlers. Krunal announced himself with three boundaries in one over off Sam Curran as he raced to 13 off just seven balls.

It was just a start of what was a high-quality display of power-hitting which included cuts, flicks, disdainful pull-strokes, upper-cuts, and drives.

The spin-bowling all-rounder smashed a half-century on debut in just 26 deliveries- the fastest by a cricketer on ODI debut. His counterattacking display rubbed off on KL Rahul, who smashed an unbeaten 43-ball 62 as the duo helped India end up with 5/317 in 50 overs.

Watch Krunal Pandya’s emotional interview here:

https://twitter.com/pant_fc/status/1374342356980232192