Sunrisers Hyderabad outclassed Chennai Super Kings in their first meeting of IPL 2024. SRH made good use of the conditions in Hyderabad to fist restrict the title holders to 165/5 before chasing it down with 11 deliveries to spare for their second win of the season.
SRH are being led by Australian Pat Cummins who was bought by the 2016 champions at the players’ auction last December for a record Rs 20.50 crore making him the second most expensive cricketer in the tournament’s history.
Cummins’ value skyrocketed thanks to a stellar 2023 as Australia captain that saw him lead his side to two world titles – World Test Championship and ODI World Cup – besides retaining Ashes in England.
Tom Moody, who was the coach when SRH won the title, has drawn comparisons between Cummins and former CSK captain MS Dhoni after the Australian’s odd choice during the Friday night clash.
“The one thing I like about Cummins is he is a bit like MS Dhoni,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo. “He is prepared to make a decision that most people don’t think about, but makes you feel like ‘Why didn’t I think about that?’ Like the Abhishek Sharma over. It was quite an odd decision when you look at the other options they could have gone with.”
“You have arguably the best new ball bowler in IPL history in Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You have got an off spinner against left-handers. You think Markram would be another one. There was plenty of other ways he could have gone. But he committed to that and it looked like from the get go, he convinced himself that it was the right decision,” he added.
