Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were "totally outplayed" by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final of IPL 2024, Pat Cummins has conceded.
Their eight-wicket defeat, completed with 57 balls to spare, was set up by Mitchell Starc's blistering new-ball spell, in which he swung the ball around corners and took out the big-hitting Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi.
"I thought they bowled fantastically," Cummins said at the post-match presentation. "Unfortunately, [my] old mate Starcy turned it on again. Obviously, not enough tonight, [we were] totally outplayed."
SRH didn't recover from the damage caused by Starc and the other KKR quicks, and were eventually bundled for 113. The longest partnership SRH managed was for the ninth wicket, and it lasted just 22 balls, which meant they could neither hit their way out of trouble nor take the innings deep and explode at the end.
"It was a bit of a tricky wicket," Cummins, who had won the toss and opted to bat, said. "I think if we got 160, it would have been like we were in the game. [It] didn't feel like a 200-plus wicket, again [we fell] well short. But maybe, [if] we found a few extra runs [it] might've given us a chance.
"You hope you get a few boundaries away [early on], you're into the game. But they bowled fantastically well, didn't give us anything [to work with]. Similar [to Qualifier 1] last week in Ahmedabad. They bowled really well, so, full credit [to them]."
Despite the failure in the final, SRH's batting line-up pushed the boundaries of aggression during the course of the tournament. Their openers, Abhishek and Travis Head, were key to this IPL being a high-scoring season. SRH broke multiple records and did it repeatedly to set the benchmark regardless of the risk involved, which pleased Cummins.
"The style that the guys played," Cummins said, "particularly with the bat, takes a lot of skill to not only get 250, [but] also [to do it] three times. You put yourself out there a fair bit. So I loved how brave the guys were in a high-pressure situation like the IPL. They took the game on, there was a lot of fun. [The] fans seemed to like it, back in Hyderabad. So, great season."