Pat Cummins. (Source -IPL/BCCI)
Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad have changed their approach in IPL 2024 and are once again one of the favourites to win the cash-rich league. After finishing at the bottom of the table last year, the management appointed Cummins as the new leader and he found a way to entertain the fans, and dominate all the opposition in the ongoing 17th edition of the tournament.
After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings, Cummins opened up that the team won’t compromise on their batting, as he believes that T20 cricket is a batter-dominating format. He added that the domination has moved to a different level this year as the batters have broken multiple records so far in the competition. The 30-year-old also mentioned that the ideal thing for the bowlers now is to play defensively in order to pick wickets.
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“T20 is always on the batting side, and it has gone to a whole new level this season. The way we set up, we had the best chance if we got some really aggressive batters, and that’s the way to win the tournament. Frankly, we don’t have much (bowling) options. It’s not Test cricket, with the ball swinging around. There’s not much sideways movement, and there’s not much on the wicket either,” Cummins was quoted as saying by News18.
“So, a lot of times, the best way to get a wicket is to try and defend. Batters are getting better at hitting the ball out and even getting confident. It challenges you as a bowler. But, if you have a big total like 270-280 and if you can go at 9.00 as a bowler and make an impact, it could be match-winning,” he added.
The all-rounder also shed light on their 78-run defeat to CSK. He stated that despite being a good chasing side, nothing went according to the plan and mentioned that the team needs to work hard to get going.
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“Hard to put a finger on it. Nothing really went (according to) to plan tonight. We’re pretty well-suited to chasing, but it hasn’t really come off yet. So yeah, it is something (we need) to work on,” Cummins reckoned.