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Pat Cummins' epic takedown of England rivals in $3.7 million cricket statement in IPL

The Aussie captain has continued to prove he is worth every cent in the IPL.

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Aussie national team captain Pat Cummins has justified his $3.7 million price tag in the IPL having taken the wicket of England rival Jonny Bairstow for a duck in his team's win over the Punjab Kings. Cummins was the most economical bowler having taken 1-22 off four overs for the Sunrisers having captained his team brilliantly to move ahead of the Kings on the table.

The Sunrisers were able to defend a solid total of 9-182 with fellow Aussie Travis Head scoring 21 off 15 balls. And another potential Indian superstar emerged from the clash with Nitish Reddy top scoring with 64 runs off 37 balls.

Pat Cummins (pictured left) dismissed Jonny Bairstow for a duck as he continues to earn his $3.7 million price tag in the IPL. (Images: Twitter)
Pat Cummins (pictured left) dismissed Jonny Bairstow for a duck as he continues to earn his $3.7 million price tag in the IPL. (Images: Twitter)

And Cummins was able to make inroads straight away having dismissed Ashes rival Bairstow with a stunning delivery to send the bails flying. Bairstow was sent back to the pavilion for a duck as Cummins managed to only concede four runs in one of his economical spells.

He then managed to help take the wicket of Sam Curran after a brilliant catch. At 3-58, Curran mistimed a pull shot with the white ball sent flying over long off. Cummins managed to scramble backwards and leap into the air to take the ball. Cummins went tumbling afterwards to take the wicket of the England star.

At 4-58 the Sunrisers looked like they could cruise to victory, but Shashank Singh (46 off 25) and Ashutosh Sharma (33 off 15) led an epic fightback. However, Cummins' economical bowling and tactics reduced to the Kings to 6-180 as they fell just short on the final over. Cummins has been elite so far in the IPL having not conceded more than 35 runs off any four over spell. Hyderabad now move above the Kings to fifth place on six points.

Pat Cummins bowls.
Pat Cummins (pictured) won the duel against Ashes rival Jonny Bairstow in the IPL. (MONEY SHARMA via Getty Images)

Five teams are now on six points with the tournament throwing up more twists. While Hyderabad fans will be thrilled with the win, Aussie fans will also be cheering Cummins' win over his Ashes rival.

Cummins has now dismissed Bairstow four times in the IPL across six innings. Bairstow has faced 31 balls from Cummins and has only scored 20 runs. It is fair to say Hyderabad fans were quick to remind the world of Cummins talent and highlight his triumph over his Ashes rivals in the IPL.

Travis Head escapes first ball nightmare

Head could have been dismissed on the first delivery when he edged the ball behind to Bairstow. However, South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada wasn't able to convince captain Shikhar Dhawan to review the chance. And Head took full advantage.

Head took it to Rabada and the bowlers, before he was caught when trying to blast Arshdeep Singh (4-29) out of the ground. The 2024 IPL season has unearthed some future Indian stars and another emerged against the Kings. Reddy, at just 20 years old, won the player-of-the-match award in just his second match in the tournament.

And captain Cummins was full of praise for the youngster who performed well with the bat and ball. "He was awesome," said Cummins. "Fantastic in the field, bowled three overs too. To get us to 180 off his bat, it was amazing."