IPL Final: 'We were completely outplayed,' SRH skipper Pat Cummins after loss to KKR in title clash

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins admitted that his team was “totally outplayed” by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after succumbing to an eight-wicket defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) final in Chennai on Sunday. SRH had got off to an explosive start in the first half of this season, with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head firing on all cylinders, but began to somewhat lose steam ever since their 35-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on 25 April.

SRH did qualify for the IPL playoffs after finishing second in the points table, but once again lost their way in Qualifier 1, where they lost to KKR by eight wickets. On Sunday, SRH were bowled out for 113 in 18.3 overs, with Cummins top-scoring with 24.

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For KKR, Mitchell Starc was one of their best bowlers in the final with figures of 2/14, and Cummins had words of praise for his Australia teammate.

“They (KKR) bowled fantastically. Old mate Starcy turned up again! Not enough tonight, totally outplayed. You hope you get some boundaries away but they bowled fantastically well, didn’t give us anything. Similar to how they bowled in Ahmedabad,’ the 31 year-old said at the presentation ceremony.

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In KKR’s reply, despite Cummins himself removing opener Sunil Narine early, Venkatesh Iyer (52*) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (39) turned it around with a 91-run stand for the second wicket, that eventually setup the win.

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The former KKR speedster felt that SRH would have given themselves a chance had they got to somewhere around 160. Instead, the 2016 champions were all out for the lowest team total in an IPL final.” It was a tricky wicket. Didn’t feel like a 200-plus wicket. 160 would have given us a chance. The style of our play, particularly with the bat, scoring 250 three times.

“So it was a great season. I had not worked with many of the guys before but it was great working with them. A really great squad and the staff was amazing. Had a great time,” continued the New South Wales-born cricketer.

“We play a lot in India but in front of a sea of blue. So it was good to have crowd on our side at times,” concluded the right-arm pacer.