The T20 format has always favored the batters and that has gone to a 'whole new level' in this Indian Premier League, believes Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins. The Australian gave his thoughts after SRH's 78-run loss to defending champions Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Sunday. IPL 2024 has already seen six totals above 250, of which 200 is no longer a safe total. Prior to this edition, 250 had been breached only twice in the history of IPL.
“T20 has always been on the batting side, and it's gone to a whole new level this season. The way we set it up, we had the best chance if we got some really aggressive batters, and that's the way to do it tournament,” Cummins said at the post-match press conference.
“To be honest, we don't have a lot of (bowling) options. It's not Test cricket, where the ball is swinging around. There's not a lot of lateral movement, and there's not a lot on the wicket either.
“So often the best way to get a wicket is to try to defend. Batters are getting better at hitting the ball and even gaining confidence. It challenges you as a bowler. But if you have a big total, like 270-280 and if you as a bowler can come in at 9am and make an impact, that can be match-winning,” said the Australian.
Analyzing the reason for the loss to CSK, he admitted that the side has some work to do in the chase.
“Hard to put my finger on it. Nothing really went according to plan tonight. We're pretty well suited to hunting, but it hasn't really worked out yet. So yeah, it's something (we need) to to work on,” Cummins said.
“There was definitely dew there; I haven't seen that much at any other venue in the country. But we weren't able to make the most of it, and they bowled well too. So it (the dew) wasn't really a factor in this match as much as we would have liked.” Of their four losses, three have come in pursuit.
Cummins said the openings were commendable, but the middle class needs to step up.
“Every time the openers went off (to score), it was a match-winning and crazy match. After a few chases, we felt we had done a really good job of setting up,” he analyzed.
“We've had several batters come up throughout the tournament and you need two or three guys to make an impact. But unfortunately tonight we never really got going.
“I'm very happy with the way the boys handled it. Even tonight there weren't too many reckless shots.” As for the struggles for the bowlers this season, Cummins felt that this could possibly be due to the wickets being drier.
“I haven't really seen much difference with the (new) white ball. It doesn't have as much swing as before, maybe because the wickets are drier. It's a tricky format and I don't think there's much with the new ball,” he said.
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