Pat Cummins rarely lets anyone down when the stakes are high and the Australia captain has risen to yet another lofty challenge to revive his Sunrisers Hyderabad outfit’s chances of reaching the IPL playoffs.
In what was billed as a make-or-break duel between the struggling Sunrisers and equally ailing Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Friday, Cummins produced his tidiest figures of the season, 2-21, to help silence the home crowd and set his side on the way to a critical five-wicket victory.
Up against his old rival, MS Dhoni, Cummins won the skippers’ battle as the 43-year-old CSK captain was left frustrated by having his landmark 400th IPL match rudely gatecrashed by the visitors’ first league win in 17 years in Chennai.
Cummins was at the heart of his side’s revival, winning a crucial toss, deciding to field and then producing his most economical four overs of the campaign while taking the key wicket of hard-hitting opener Ayush Mhatre (30 off 19) and, later, allrounder Anshul Kamboj.
Alongside some terrific work from his medium-pacer colleague Harshal Patel, who was a deserved player of the match for his 4-28, which included the prize wicket of Dhoni for six, the home side capitulated for just 154 at their home citadel.
Hyderabad then got to their target on 5-155 with eight balls to spare, even after Travis Head had failed to kick on again after getting to 19 off 16 balls at the top of the order before swinging wildly across the line and having his stumps rearranged by Kamboj .
With his opening partner Abhishek Sharma having also fallen for a second-ball duck, SRH made hard work of the chase and were grateful to Ishan Kishan’s 44 and an unbeaten 32 off 22 balls from Kamindu Mendis for the third win of the season that shoves them up to eighth in the 10-team table.
Rock-bottom Chennai, defeated for the seventh time this season, were once again largely outplayed, leading to further puzzlement over why Aussie quick Nathan Ellis, who was ditched after playing just one match at the start of the campaign, can’t seem to get a look in.
Their only bright spark was the big-hitting of South African debutant Dewald Brevis, who slammed four sixes in his 42, only to fall to a stunning diving catch in the deep by Mendis.
Cummins, who had been looking a picture of worry on the bench during the Sunrisers’ reply, had reason to smile again afterwards as he declared: “That was great – a few things came together tonight.
“You always get a bit down after a few losses but the boys played well. Our record against CSK isn’t great here, so with five games left, we’re still hopeful, we’ll give it a good crack.
“You always wish we’d finished that a bit more comfortably and been a bit more clinical, but, overall, happy to get a win.”
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au