New Delhi, India
Pat Cummins produced one of the best innings in IPL history as he slammed the joint-fastest fifty (joining KL Rahul at the top) in the cash-rich league, off 14 balls, during Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) 162-run chase versus the five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Wednesday (April 06).
Coming out to bat at No. 7, with the score being 101 for 5, the Aussie all-rounder was on song from the word go. He took on the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Tymal Mills before going bonkers versus Daniel Sams to churn out 35 runs, in the 16th over, and finish off the proceedings at one go. While it seemed the run-chase would go down the wire when the Aussie Test captain came out to bat, the 28-year-old pulled off a stunning display to make heads turn worldwide.
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Here's a look at how Cummins prepared for the onslaught versus MI with his batting session at the KKR nets a day before the face-off:
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At the post-match presentation, Cummins reflected on his match-winning knock and said, "I probably think I'm most surprised by that innings. I'm glad that it came off. I was thinking of having a swing if it was in my area. Wasn't trying to overthink it. Very satisfying to do it on my first game this season. Was just trying to pepper the shorter boundary. The hard thing after a big auction is that there are a lot of changes from last year. It's a good mix of talent out there and quite relaxed with the boys."