Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Pat Cummins put on a stunning assault with the bat against Mumbai Indians, turning a close chase into an easy victory in the space of a single over. Cummins hit Daniel Sams for 35 runs in the 16th over of the match to take his team to victory on Wednesday, hitting the joint-fastest half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the process. Cummins came in to bat with KKR needing 61 runs off 41 deliveries with five wickets in hand. It is not the easiest of prospects and the match looked like it was headed for a tense finish, but the Australia Test captain had other plans.
Speaking to the broadcasters Star Sports after the match, former India head coach Ravi Shastri joked that Cummins had "spoiled a really good game of cricket.
"It's like someone walking past him should tell him 'Well played Pat. Thanks for spoiling a really good game of cricket.' He spoiled a very good game of cricket," Shastri said.
"It was unreal. 35 runs in an over. You have to start thinking when did you see a match like this where the other team had the upper hand to an extent and then it goes to maybe 60-40 for Mumbai Indians. Come the next over, it's over. It's been a long time since I've seen a match like this and I have seen a lot of cricket," he said about KKR's chase.
Noting that Venkatesh Iyer, who anchored KKR's chase with an unbeaten 50 off 41, mentioned that the pitch was still difficult to bat on, Shastri said: "He spoke beautifully, Venkatesh Iyer. What he said was absolutely right. It was tough for everyone else."
"Look at this striking. He came out on a mission. He went for 49 runs in his four overs so he's saying I'm going to get those runs and more to finish off this match. And my word he's smacked it all around the ground. And there's hardly any mis-hits in that innings," he went on to say about Cummins' blockbuster innings.
Cummins reached his half-century in 14 deliveries and then hit the next ball for the winning six to finish on 56* off 15.
He also took two wickets, including that of the in-form Ishan Kishan, as MI were restricted to 161/4.