Photo: Collected
Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins will need a spectacular turnaround to secure another major title on Sunday, when his Sunrisers Hyderabad face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League final only five days after a heavy loss.
Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in the last qualifier in Chennai on Friday to secure a place in their third IPL final.
But that win came after a crushing eight-wicket defeat by two-time champions Kolkata in the first play-off in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Hyderabad's only title in the world's most lucrative T20 tournament came in 2016 under another Australian, David Warner.
Fast bowler Cummins, for whom Hyderabad paid $2.5 million in the IPL auction, led Australia to both the world Test championship title and an ODI World Cup triumph last year.
"Very practical guy, very humble, very empathetic with his fellow team-mates and coaching staff," Hyderabad assistant coach Simon Helmot said of Cummins.
"He is into the statistics, gets the information he needs against a particular opposition in certain conditions. Doesn't waste time in team meetings, our team meeting today went for 35 seconds," he told reporters.
Hyderabad have racked up record IPL totals of 277 and 287 in a high-scoring tournament, with Cummins' astute leadership and rotation of bowlers also an advantage when defending totals.
Standing in Cummins' way will be fellow Australian and Kolkata quick Mitchell Starc, who rattled Hyderabad's top order in the first qualifier.
Left-arm quick Starc became the most expensive player in IPL history when Kolkata paid $2.98 million for his services, overtaking Cummins in the same auction in December.
Starc justified the outlay when he returned figures of 3-34 at the world's biggest cricket stadium on Tuesday, including bowling fellow Australian and Hyderabad opener Travis Head for a duck.
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