‘It was Daniel Vettori’s idea’ – Pat Cummins on utilising Shahbaz Ahmed as Impact Substitute

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) secured their place in the IPL 2024 final after defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 36 runs in the Qualifier 2 match at Chepauk on Friday, May 24. The Pat Cummins-led side put up a clinical all-round performance to qualify for the finals and face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 26.

After being asked to bat first, SRH got off to a slow start, losing Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram cheaply. However, Rahul Tripathi’s 37 off 15 balls and crucial knocks from Heinrich Klaasen (50) and Travis Head (34) guided them to 175/9 after 20 overs.

The chase seemed achievable but SRH’s bowling attack rose to the occasion. Captain Cummins utilised his spin resources to perfection on a sluggish Chepauk surface. Cummins revealed it was head coach Daniel Vettori’s strategy to bring in Shahbaz Ahmed as the impact player that turned the game towards the Orange Army by ending with figures of 3/23.

“That was Vettori’s choice, left-arm orthodox, and wanted as many left-arm orthodox as possible,” Cummins said at the post-match presentation.

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We know our strength was batting and wouldn’t underestimate the experience we have: Pat Cummins

Cummins also praised the contributions of 23-year-old all-rounder Abhishek Sharma, who chipped in with two wickets despite having a rough day with the bat

“That was a surprise, tried to stick one out of him (Abhishek) with a couple of right-handers and he bowled beautifully and those two won it with their bowling in the middle overs. We knew our strength was our batting and we wouldn’t underestimate the experience we have in this squad. It’s a dream having Bhuvi, Nattu, and Unadkat, which makes my job easy,” Cummins added.

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The spin duo ran through RR’s batting, picking five key wickets between them. Despite Dhruv Jurel’s 56-run knock, the Royals fell well short. The SRH skipper expressed satisfaction at his team’s all-round performance that fulfilled their goal of reaching the final.

“The boys have been fantastic all season. There’s a great vibe in the squad, as you can see, and the final was the goal at the start of the season and we made it. 170 was a tough chase, and had we got a couple of wickets, we knew we had a chance,” he concluded.