Cummins takes blame as Sunrisers near the IPL exit door

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Cummins takes blame as Sunrisers near the IPL exit door

Pat Cummins has been left scolding himself over his expensive bowling and a missed catch as his Sunrisers Hyderabad outfit slumped to the verge of elimination in the Indian Premier League.

The run-blasting outfit that reached the final in 2024 have been a pale imitation under Cummins’ stewardship this year. Their comprehensive 38-run loss to Gujarat Titans in front of 90,000-plus fans in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium means they’re now reliant on other results to rescue their faintest of hopes.

Cummins, whose side have won just three of 10 matches, tried to put on a brave face after Friday’s game, admitting their fate now being out of their hands was “unfortunate”, but he was clinging on to some faint hope they could still make the final play-off quartet.

Asked about the difference between the two sides as Gujarat powered to a formidable 6-224 after the *********** invited them to bat first before Sunrisers could muster only 6-186 in reply, Cummins was quick to point the finger at himself.

“Our powerplay with the ball wasn’t too great, and I’m probably as guilty as anyone there,” he shrugged, reflecting on being clouted for 40 off his four overs.

“(I) probably let them get 20 or 30 extra just with some bad ******.

“And maybe we should have hung on to one or two catches throughout the middle – again, I’m guilty there,” he added, referring to a difficult chance he couldn’t take on the retreat when Jos Buttler, who was on 22, skyed one to cover off Harshal Patel.

Former England white-ball skipper Buttler went on to thrash 64 off 37 deliveries, before Cummins did get him mis-hitting to long-on for his one wicket of the day.

But with Titans captain Shubman Gill also in sparking form with his two-a-ball 76 and Sai Sudharsan kicking off the innings with 48 off 23, Hyderabad couldn’t afford the lapses.

“Chasing 200 would have looked a bit more realistic,” Cummins said with a shrug.

In the chase, Travis Head was going along nicely on 20 off 16 ****** when Rashid Khan, having to zig-zag at full pelt to get to the ball, took a remarkable catch in the deep to end his knock. The Aussie’s look of disbelief told how fine a piece of fielding it was.

Abhishek Sharma made a fight of it with 74 off 41, but the game had long gone when Cummins finished up with a six and a four in his 10-ball cameo of 19.

With Hyderabad’s chances now on life support, Cummins was still trying to remain positive.

“It was obviously a big auction last year, so the core of this group’s going to be together for three years, hopefully, so there’s still lots to play for,” he said.

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