Chenai:
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins on Friday said it was a rewarding experience to see the team change its destiny and reach the IPL final after a disastrous 2023 season. SRH finished at the bottom in 2023 but Cummins, who was signed for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore, engineered a sensational turnaround for the franchise, taking the team to the final with a 36-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday. “The boys have been fantastic all season. There’s a great vibe in the team as you can see and the final was the aim at the start of the season and we achieved it,” Cummins said in the post-game presentation.
“It’s for the entire franchise, probably 60 or 70 of them who put their heart and soul into this. It’s really humbling and I hope there’s one more left.” Sent in to bat, SRH scored 175 for nine, capitalizing on Heinrich Klaasen’s 34-ball 50 and contributions from Travis Head (34) and Rahul Tripathi (37).
The spinners then joined the party with Shahbaz Ahmed (23/3) and Abhishek Sharma (24/2) sharing five wickets as RR managed just 139 for 7 in 20 overs. Cummins (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/13) also scalped one each.
“We knew our strength was our batting and we wouldn’t underestimate the experience we have in this team, it’s a dream to have Bhuvi, Nattu and Unadkat, it makes my job easier.
On Abhishek’s bowling, Cummins said, “That was a surprise, I tried to hit him with some right-handers and he bowled beautifully and those two won with their bowling in the middle.
“170 was a tough chase and if we had taken a few wickets we knew we had a chance.” Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson lamented that his batsmen could not find a way to face the spinners.
“It was a great game. I’m very proud of the way we bowled in the first innings. We ran out of options in the middle of the overs against their spin, that’s when we lost the game,” he said.
“It’s very difficult to guess when we expect some dew or when we don’t. The wicket started to behave differently in the second innings, the ball started to spin a little, they took advantage of that advantage very well.
“They threw their spin in the middle against our right-handed batsmen, that’s where they had an advantage against us.” Samson said the batsmen could have tried something different to trouble the spinners.
“Against the left-arm spin, when the ball was stopping, we could have tried a little more reverse sweep or maybe used the crease a little more. They also bowled very well.” On Sandeep Sharma, who bowled beautifully on the slow track in the middle of the overs, Samson said: “I am very happy for him. For not being picked in the auctions and coming back as a substitute, the way he played, he definitely delivered.
“If we look at the numbers, Sandeep Sharma in the last two years, he will be the next guy after Bumrah. He also praised the young players on his team.
“We have had some brilliant games not only this season, but over the last three years, it has been a great project for our franchise. We found some really great talent for the country.
“Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and a lot of them look really exciting not just for RR but definitely for the Indian cricket team. We’ve had great seasons over the last three years.”
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