IPL 2023: Chandu’s family planning

KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit gets emotional as he hugs match-winner Rinku Singh at Ahmedabad on Sunday. Pic/KKR

Whenever Chandrakant Pandit takes over as coach, he turns a team into a champion side.

Going by Kolkata Knight Riders' last two outings, every team in IPL-16 must watch out for Pandit's marauding team.

On Sunday, they pulled off an improbable victory after a roller coaster ride with defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Venkatesh Iyer

Southpaw Rinku Singh pulled a rabbit out of the hat by smoking five sixes in a row in the last over of the match for KKR's three-wicket win.

Venkatesh Iyer, who created the platform for that thrilling finish with a 40-ball 83, sang hosannas of Pandit, the coach he believes has strengthened the team as a unit. "I am very happy for Chandrakant Pandit sir," he said in a reply to a question from mid-day after the match on Sunday.

"He is a stalwart in the modern game and using his tactics at the international level, I can bet my life on the fact that KKR are playing there as a unit. Everyone in the KKR team is sticking together as a family. That is something that he [Pandit] is constantly working on, to build a unit, to build a family and it is very satisfying to see that work," eulogised Venkatesh.

Also read: IPL 2023: Thakur, Gurbaz, Rinku, spinners help KKR thrash RCB by 81 runs

Talking about his own association with Pandit, he pointed out: "He is my domestic [Madhya Pradesh] coach. I know a lot of things that he does not just on the field but off the field as well. He believes in two things - fitness and discipline, which are very important in playing cricket. He is ethically very strong as well. Every time we go out there, we will put out a disciplined show, irrespective of the result. We are a very disciplined side on and off the field, that is the culture he has built in the team," Iyer added.