"Pat Cummins, one of the most insane display(s) of clean hitting, 15 ball 56," thus wrote batting great Virender Sehwag soon after the Australia all-rounder clubbed Daniel Sams for a fourth six in the 16th over and sealed the win for Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians in match 14 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
In the salivating tweet, Sehwag also invoked the famed Indian delicacies, 'vada pav' and 'jeera batti', while also taking a jibe at the poor Mumbai Indians bowlers. Sehwag started the tweet, teasingly, "Moonh se nivala cheen liya". Meaning, "took away the morsel..."
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Well, the five-time champions were on course for the season's first win with their favourite whipping boys struggling at 83/4 in the chase of a 162-run target. But Cummins, fresh from leading the Australian national cricket team to a 2-1 Test series win in Pakistan, brought his A-game to Pune and deprived Mumbai of a win.
Relive the 15-ball knock here:
That over from Daniel Sams resulted in 35 runs, which is the third most expensive in the IPL history, behind Prasanth Parameswaran (37 in 2011) and Harshal Patel (37 in 2021).
Cummins has shown a liking for the Mumbai attack. In his previous match against Mumbai, he hit an unbeaten 53 off 36. Before that he hit 33 off 12.
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Cummins' knock is now the joint-fastest fifty in the IPL history (off 14 balls) sharing the honours with KL Rahul, now the captain of Lucknow Super Giants. Rahul, then with Punjab Kings, achieved the feat in 2018 against Delhi Capitals at Mohali.
For the record, Yusuf Pathan and Sunil Narine have 15-ball fifties.
Cummins, 28, will be seen in action on Sunday as KKR take on Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. He missed the team's first three matches.
