Cummins: SRH have earned the right to have such days and still win tournaments
The Sunrisers captain isn't worried about his side's heavy defeat to KKR in Qualifier 1
ESPNcricinfo staff
21-May-2024
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins was not fussed after his team suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday and simply said he wanted "to put this one behind pretty quickly".
"I guess we have earned the right to have one of those days and still win tournaments," Cummins said after the game. "Not our day but good thing we have another crack at it [qualifying for the final]."
After choosing to bat, SRH were blown away in the powerplay by Mitchell Starc and were eventually dismissed for 159 in 19.3 overs. In reply, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer smashed unbeaten fifties to overhaul the target in 13.4 overs to qualify for the final.
"A bit off the pace," Cummins said about his team's effort. "Think you have those days in T20 cricket. Even when you are a very good side, you have some days where it doesn't quite work out.
"Few guys didn't get off to starts so we were probably short of where we wanted to be with the bat. And then yeah, couldn't get it done with the ball. Kolkata bowled really well. That wicket got better but there was a little bit in it early. But it happens."
SRH's decision to bring in Sanvir Singh as their Impact Player also became a point of discussion. He came into bat when SRH were 121 for 6 in the 14th over and fell first ball to Sunil Narine. Cummins said the decision was taken to strengthen SRH's batting at the cost of an extra bowling option in the second innings.
"Sunny [Sanvir] played the last game. We were kind of hoping not to use the batting sub to keep Umran [Malik] up our sleeve on that wicket but felt like the extra batting was important," he said.
SRH have another shot at making the final on Friday, when they face the winners of the Eliminator between Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] and Rajasthan Royals [RR] in Chennai.
"Going to a new venue helps as well. It is going to be a bit different feel to here, so you start again," Cummins said. "We have got a good body of work behind us this season to look back on, so we erase this one and move on."