Pat Cummins demonstrated his strong leadership as captain, guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad to a six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2024 match on Friday. Chasing 166, SRH reached the target in 18.1 overs thanks to a half-century from Aiden Markram, who hit 50 off 36 balls. Meanwhile, opener Abhishek Sharma smashed 37 off just 12 deliveries.
In the first innings, Cummins opened the bowling with Abhishek instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. CSK posted a competitive total of 165/5 in 20 overs, led by Shivam Dube’s quickfire 45 off 24 balls. The SRH bowlers worked well as a unit, with Bhuvneshwar, T Natarajan, Cummins, Shahbaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat taking a wicket each, respectively.
Speaking with ESPNCricinfo, Tom Moody praised Pat Cummins’s captaincy skills, comparing them favorably to MS Dhoni‘s leadership,
“I admire Cummins’ risk-taking ability, which is like MS Dhoni. He is willing to make unconventional choices that initially seem odd, but in hindsight appear good. A prime example is his surprise decision to bowl Abhishek Sharma, despite having several more obvious options available. It’s a move that makes you think, ‘Why didn’t I consider that?’ “
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar is arguably the best new ball bowler in IPL history. The team also has a capable off spinner to use against left-handers. Markram could have been another option. There were plenty of other choices available. But the captain committed to his decision early, seemingly convincing himself it was the right call from the start.” said Moody.
The win allowed SRH to move up to fifth place in the standings with four points from four matches. CSK stayed in third place with the same number of points but a superior net run rate.