"That was insane" - Pat Cummins admits being nervous as MI neared miracle chase in IPL 2024

Pat Cummins led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to an amazing victory over the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) by 31 runs in the 8th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27.

Losing the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were invited to bat first and they made sure to punish Mumbai Indians (MI) for allowing them to bat on a track that had nothing for the bowlers.

Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Aiden Markram brought out their best batting performance and smoked the MI bowlers all over the park. All four batters played attacking cricket from ball one and they looked unstoppable against the MI bowlers except Jasprit Bumrah.

In the end, SRH posted a humongous total of 277/3 on the board, which was the highest total in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They shattered RCB’s record of 263/5 which they hammered in 2013 against now-defunct PWI.

For SRH, Heinrich Klaasen top-scored as he smashed 80 runs while Abhishek Sharma (63), Travis Head (62), and Aiden Markram (42) chipped in with sensational runs. Talking about MI bowlers, all of them gave away runs at an economy of over 10 except Jasprit Bumrah.

Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan came out all guns blazing and had a half-century partnership. The failure of opening batters to convert their starts into big scores came as a massive blow to MI.

Then, Tilak Varma hit a stunning fifty in the match and was well-supported by Naman Dhir. However, after their dismissal things didn’t go smoothly for MI as Hardik Pandya, Tim David and Romario Shepherd weren’t able to do the job for the team and they were restricted to 246/5.

They found a boundary whenever they needed it, but we finished it off well – Pat Cummins

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Pat Cummins said that the match in Hyderabad was insane and he never thought the target posted by his team could be chased until they came to bowl. He also showered high praise on the Player of the Match Abhishek Sharma. Pat Cummins said:

“That was insane. The ball was really pinging around. Not until we bowled, it got a bit too close for comfort. They found a boundary whenever they needed it, but we finished it off well. “

“(On Abhishek Sharma) Really impressive, in IPL you play with a lot of pressure but he plays with great freedom.”

Pat Cummins further said that they didn’t bat with the score of 270 in mind and they just reached that total as the wicket was good. Pat Cummins said:

“(On plans in first innings) You never play for 270, but we wanted to be postive and be aggressive, take the game on. It was a good wicket, so we have to suck it up knowing we would go for a few boundaries. What’s important is to have clear plans with the ball.”

Pat Cummins signed off by praising the Hyderabad crowd for creating an amazing atmosphere and being loud throughout the game. Pat Cummins said:

“(On home crowd) Amazing atmosphere in the ground, enjoyed playing here, was incredibly loud.”