Pat Cummins: Dinesh Karthik has been the toughest batter to crack in IPL 2024

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins has named Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Dinesh Karthik as the toughest batter to crack in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 during an interview with Shibani Gharat of CNBC-TV18. The two teams had played a 549-run thriller at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier this season.

SRH had scored 287 batting first in this match, and RCB gave them a tough run for their money, putting 282 on the board in the second innings.

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Karthik played a fantastic knock, hitting 83 off 35 deliveries, with the help of five boundaries and seven maximums at a strike rate of 237.14. That innings certainly caught Cummins’ attention, who named him the most difficult batter he has faced in IPL 2024.

“The Bengaluru game was amazing. Dinesh Karthik, he was hard to bowl to at the end there. He played a blinder. So I’ll say, DK,” Cummins said in the interview.

Pat Cummins record in IPL 2024

Cummins was picked by SRH for ₹20.5 crore by Sunrisers in the IPL 2024 auction and was straightaway handed the mantle of leading the team.

He has played 10 games and picked 12 wickets at an economy rate of 9.05. His bowling average and strike rate are 30.17 and 20 respectively. Cummins has bowled in various phases of the innings, making good use of the new ball in the powerplay, before demonstrating his variations when the field opens up after the first six overs.

Asked about the most challenging Indian batter he has encountered overall in his career, Cummins refrained from giving a name. He instead mentioned, “Um, I don’t know. It feels like almost every batter, on their day, is a challenge. Some of the main guys have good days where you don’t have answers, but then I’ve also got them out a few times. So, okay.”

Selection dilemma at Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers have been doing a formidable job in IPL 2024. Having developed a power-packed roster, Cummins and the team management heralded by had coach Daniel Vettori have blended the inexperienced and the seasoned players in the squad perfectly to build a cohesive unit that has often outplayed their oppositions with the bat. In bowling, they have unearthed a gem in T Natarajan, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar re-discovering his touch to produce magical spells.

“I think it’s a mix of both. You know, of course, we’ve always got selectors and coaches who have as much, if not more, say than I do as captain. But I think you always just want a mix of everything. Um, you know, experienced guys who have done it for a long time,” Cummins said.

He added, “That’s obviously hugely valuable, but so is a young guy who’s got no fear and who’s even a little bit naive and just takes the game on. I think that’s always refreshing to see as well. So, you kind of map out how you want the style that you want the team to play, and then you pick the 11 guys who are best suited.”

Right now, Sunrisers have score 12 points from 10 matches, winning six games, and they are placed at the fourth spot, placed behind Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who occupy the first three places in the points table. They are taking on Mumbai Indians (MI) for an important fixture at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow