Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya has cleared the air over his tensions with former West Indian international and Lucknow Super Giants batter Nicholas Pooran.
The two seemed to have a go at each other when their teams faced off in Lucknow on May 7. Lucknow managed to break a six-match losing streak and won the match by a close 9 runs.
LSG beat RCB
Although the game was laced with multiple rain interruptions, it was eventually reduced to just 19 overs a side. Mitchell Marsh made his second IPL century to lead LSG’s charge.
Pooran played his part as well, but it was Rishabh Pant’s cameo that gave LSG the final push to go past 200. DLS maths set RCB’s target to 213 in 19 overs.
With Jacob Bethell gone in the first over and Virat Kohli out for a duck in the second, RCB’s hopes looked bleak. Prince Yadav – who had dismissed Kohli – came back to break the stand between Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar.
Tim David, Krunal Pandya, and Romario Shepherd tried but could only put up a close fight that gave RCB their fourth loss in the tournament.
The Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran incident
The altercation took place in the tenth over of LSG’s innings. Pandya had just dismissed Arshin Kulkarni, and Pooran got a promotion to No. 3 for another match.
Pandya welcomed Pooran with a bouncer – a tactic he has successfully deployed on occasion to catch southpaws off guard. The first was a dot ball. Krunal tried a second bouncer, which Pooran worked toward a single.
Once Pooran was at the non-striker’s end, he and Pandya seemed to be talking aggressively, and there was apparently a forehead bump. LSG head coach Justin Langer contemplated getting involved, but stayed out of it.
New video shows Pandya and Pooran being friendly
A new viral video has now surfaced on social media two days after the match. The video shows Pandya and Pooran engaging in what looked like friendly banter after the match.
Interestingly, Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran were teammates at Lucknow Super Giants from 2023 to 2024. Pooran was retained ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025, while Pandya joined RCB.
Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya having a friendly banter? 😳 pic.twitter.com/hyYoj2J0d7
— Deepu (@deepu_drops) May 8, 2026
Krunal Pandya clears the air on Instagram
After the match, Krunal Pandya took to his Instagram to clarify the allegations on the incident between him and Pooran.
Pandya posted a photo of himself with Pooran and said that there was no lafda (dispute) between the two. Pandya also congratulated his former teammate for completing the milestone of 100 matches in the IPL. Pooran has played for Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past.
“No lafda (no trouble), only love ❤️Congrats to my bro @nicholaspooran on completing 100 IPL games. Proud of you, brother, many more to come 🤗🔥Btw, how was the bouncer ?” Pandya captioned the picture.
Pandya had tagged Pooran in his post, and the latter decided to oblige in a comment. “Only love here, guys. One of my best Mates,” he wrote.
