Pat Cummins himself was no less surprised after his 15-ball unbeaten 56 helped Kolkata Knight Riders canter to victory versus Mumbai Indians with four overs to spare in Pune on Wednesday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation after playing a blinder, coming out to bat at No.7, the Australia Test captain said: “I probably think I’m most surprised by that innings. But of course, I’m glad that it came off. It was truly very satisfying to do it in my first game this season.”
Cummins said he was aiming for the shorter boundaries. “I wasn’t trying to overthink it. The ball seems to fly here, so I was just trying to pepper the shorter boundaries.”
With the ball Cummins was expensive, conceding 49 off his four overs after Kieron Pollard spoiled his figures in the final over. But before that final over, which went for 23, Cummins had done more than a decent job, accounting for Ishan Kishan and a very well-set Suryakumar Yadav.
“Well, I’m happy with how I came out. My overall performance makes me pretty happy indeed,” Cummins said.
For KKR captain Shreyas Iyer, it was unbelievable to watch Cummins bat in such a manner, considering the pacer’s struggles at nets on match-eve, when “ he was getting bowled every now and then”.
The Knights had a plan during the timeout after the 14th over, which was for Venkatesh Iyer to drop anchor and Cummins to swing at everything. But before it could be executed, Cummins hammered 35 off Daniel Sams in the 16th over to ensure the Knights romped home, Shreyas added.