We’ll look to erase this forgettable performance and bounce back: Cummins

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins admitted that his side did not rise to the occasion in Qualifier 1 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 21 (Tuesday) but insisted that they will look to put this performance behind and bounce back in Qualifier 2 on May 24 (Friday).

The night began well for SRH with Cummins winning the toss, but the Orange Army ended up playing catch-up from the get go. A stunning burst from Mitchell Starc — who took three in the powerplay, including the big wicket of Travis Head — reduced them to 39/4 in five overs, and they eventually ended up getting bowled out for 159.

The second innings didn’t go any better, with SRH burning both their reviews inside three overs before dropping multiple catches as KKR knocked down the target with 38 balls to spare.

“We were off the pace. You have these days in T20 cricket when nothing works out,” Cummins said at the post-match presentation.

“We didn't get enough starts with the bat and didn't go on. We were well short [with the bat]. We couldn’t do much with the ball either.”

SRH did not give KKR a scare with the ball at any point, but they were a bowler short in the second innings due to using their impact sub in the first innings itself. After Rahul Tripathi's run-out in the 14th over, the Sunrisers opted to sub Sanvir Singh to help the side see out the innings. The move backfired, as the 27-year-old perished for a golden duck.

Cummins admitted that the situation pretty much forced SRH to use the impact sub in the first innings.

“Sunny (Sanvir) played the last game, we were hoping not to use the batting sub to use Umran but felt the batting was important (due to the situation),” Cummins explained, talking about the decision to sub-in Sanvir.

Finishing in the top two has its perks, and so SRH will have another bite at the cherry on May 24 (Friday). That will be at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where they will face either Rajasthan Royals (RR) or Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Cummins asserted that bouncing back will not be an issue for his side that’s already ‘well-motivated’.

“Think it's easy to move on, going to a new venue helps. You start again. We have a good body of work too.”

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