Pat Cummins was candid enough to admit being “most surprised” by his 15-ball unbeaten 56 that helped Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Mumbai Indians in Pune on Wednesday.

For sure, few would have expected the world’s top-ranked Test bowler to record the joint-fastest 50 in the IPL and take the Knights home with a good four overs remaining in the game. That too, on a MCA Stadium pitch which wasn’t quite a belter.

That said, was it really so much of a surprise to witness such a brutal assault with the bat from Cummins? If one looks back at IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE, twice Cummins’ bat had done the talking for the Knight Riders and on both occasions, it was against Mumbai.

On October 16, 2020, in Abu Dhabi, he hit an unbeaten 53 off 36 balls in an unbroken 87-run stand for the sixth wicket with then captain Eoin Morgan. A few days before that, at the same venue, Cummins had smacked Jasprit Bumrah for as many as four sixes in an over, scoring 33 off just 12 balls.

Clean hitting was the hallmark of those two knocks as well, just as it was in the mayhem caused off Daniel Sams’ bowling when Cummins hammered the left-arm quick for 35 (including a no-ball) to seal the game for the Knights on Wednesday.

But before that game-ending 16th over, Bumrah again took a pounding off Cummins, being dispatched over the leg-side first for a maximum and then worked past short third man for a boundary off the very next ball. And on this occasion as well, those were proper cricketing shots against a top class bowler across all formats.

“When I come in to bat, it’s probably towards the end of the game, so he (Bumrah) is normally trying to bowl in accordance with death-bowling norms. But I’ve got a pretty clear thinking. I’ve just got to clear the ropes,” Cummins said about his approach.

“So, I would say whenever I’m facing him, I just try to hit it as hard as I can and fortunately, it has come off a few times.”

If Cummins goes on to get further success with the bat in this IPL, it surely would give a massive boost to Australia when they begin their T20 World Cup title defence later in the year at home. No wonder he would be a valued addition to their batting line-up, which already consists of able finishers like Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade.

Trick missed?

On the other hand, did Mumbai miss a trick by not bringing on leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin against Cummins, who’s not comfortable against spin? Ashwin had picked up two wickets in the three overs he bowled.

“We probably could have held on to the hard lengths a bit more against Pat rather than bowling those extra change-ups. The short boundaries were on the leg side, so it is quite easy for even Pat to hit a few slog sweeps,” head coach Mahela Jayawardene argued, implying the change of lengths didn’t work for Mumbai.