Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling all-rounder Pat Cummins has opened up on the effort and the mindset behind his blitzy 15-ball 56 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022. His stormy knock helped KKR to register a five-wicket victory on Thursday.
In a chat with his KKR teammate Venkatesh Iyer, who played an anchor’s role from the other end with a crucial 50 (41), on IPLT20.com, Cummins said that while the top order “did the hard work”, he was just trying to hit big sixes when the bowlers were struggling. The veteran pacer explained: “I don’t know, I think you guys did the hard work upfront, so for when I come in, I am trying to hit big sixes, trying to think really clearly: If it’s in my area, I am going to go for it, if it’s not in my area, I’ll just try and take a single. Batting at the end of the game, it’s not swinging, it’s not seaming so it’s a bit easier for me. It was good fun.”
Pat Cummins hit as many as six sixes and four fours, reaching his fifty in just 14 balls as well. With this, he matched KL Rahul’s record for the fastest fifty in the cash-rich league as well. However, the pace bowler just came from playing a Test series in Pakistan recently and had good practise sessions before the match too. And, he also said that the minimum practice helped him hit big and, having played Tests, he didn’t have to “upskill too quickly” either as well.
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He added: “Had about five to six days off then I flew over here, three days quarantine and then had two days leading into this game which was like, the more I bowl, the better I feel like I bowl. Coming off Test cricket means that I don’t have to upskill too quickly. So it’s been good preparation, the body feels great, [I’m] just itching to get out there.”
When he was asked what he would do with the bat with which he played the stunning knock, Cummins replied: “I’ll hang on to it, yeah, I’ll look after that one.”
Meanwhile, with the situation looking out of hand for KKR while chasing 162, Pat Cummins helped them win the game within 16 overs. He also picked up two crucial wickets and won the Player of the Match award.
While his sharing his side of the story with Cummins, Venkatesh Iyer revealed how most of the players found the MCA Stadium pitch “tricky to bat on”. He also admitted his own struggles to hit the ball but said that he kept himself going and tried to play the anchor’s role in the game which he did brilliantly.
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Venkatesh Iyer explained: “Felt really good. Honestly, barring you, everyone felt the wicket was a bit tricky to bat on but that was some unbelievable hitting from you so it was important for me to stay there till the end and play that anchor role. Obviously, I didn’t have the best of starts with the bat, I wasn’t hitting the ball with the middle of the bat. But those are the days, you know. I spoke to myself about staying there till the end. You need a batter from the top-four to stay there when chasing a decent total in front of the bowling attack like that. So that was my plan.”
Following the win, KKR are now at the top of the IPL 2022 points table with six points. They will next take on Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Brabourne Stadium on April 10.
