Pat Cummins has delivered one of the finest opening spells of this season’s Indian Premier League in a captain’s performance, then watched the rain end his team’s campaign just as their survival hopes began to flicker.
Sunrisers Hyderabad needed a thumping win over Delhi Capitals to keep alive their slim chance of making the play-offs, and thanks to Cummins thought they would gain it.
The Australian captain took 3-19 off four overs, ripping out the Delhi Capitals top order in a devastating opening spell, but it was all in vain as, after restricting the visitors to 7-133, Sunrisers never took strike.
That robbed spectators and viewers of the chance to see Travis Head taking on Mitch Starc, and meant Sunrisers, last year’s finalists, are now mathematically out of the competition with three matches still to play.
Capitals, having escaped with a unlikely point, are still in the mix but need to reverse their stuttering form with two wins from their last seven matches.
Having won the toss and chosen to bowl Cummins took a wicket off the opening ball of each of his first three overs, all caught by wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.
He dismissed Karun Nair feathering the first ball of the innings. In his second over fellow opener and dangerman Faf du Plessis was snared for three swinging and edging. Then, in Cummins’ third, Abishek Porel went for eight, athletically caught by Kishan running to backward square leg as the batter looped up a legside shot.
That left Capitals 3-15, and Cummins had not finished there, running back at mid-off to superbly catch opposition captain Axar Patel (6) off Harshal Patel.
When KL Rahul (10) also perished cheaply Capitals were 5-29 and in deep trouble, but Tristan Stubbs (41 no off 36) and Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26 replacing Porel) guided them to a still modest but at least respectable total.
Sunrisers will have fancied their chances of knocking off the runs in good time to improve their net-run-rate, but rain in Hyderabad meant they never had the chance.
