Pat Cummins' whirlwind knock of 15-ball 56* single-handedly won the match for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) over Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022 on Wednesday, according to former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
Cummins hit the joint-fastest half-century in IPL history reaching the milestone in 14 balls, hitting 56 off just 15 balls to help KKR chase down a 162-run goal with four overs to spare.
Cummins entered the game just as it appeared that MI had regained control of the game, having sent back dangerous Andre Russell. KKR still needed 61 runs from 40 deliveries to win.
In the 16th over bowled by Daniel Sams, Cummins slammed 35 runs in it to win the game for KKR by 4 overs to spare and 5 wickets in hand.
"It's a bitter, bitter pill to swallow. That was bizarre. It's like someone giving you chocolate and before you can say 'thank you' it's in the other guy's mouth and he is saying 'thank you'," said Shastri on Star Sports.
"It was unreal. 35 runs in an over. You have to start thinking when you saw a match like this in which the other team had the upper hand to an extent. Then it goes maybe 60-40 towards the Mumbai Indians. Come the next over, it's over. It's been a long time since I have seen a match like this and I've seen a lot of cricket.
"Look at the striking. He came out with a mission. He went for 49 runs in his four overs and he said, 'I'm going to get those runs and more'. My word he spanked it all around the ground. There is hardly any mishits in that innings. Unbelievable," said Shastri.
After the game, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma stated that they did not anticipate Cummins to achieve what he did. The right-hander was seemingly dismissed off the fifth delivery of the 16th over, but it was ruled a no ball for height.
Suryakumar Yadav took a fantastic catch on the ropes, but the batters only managed to get two runs off that ball. Cummins then smashed a six off the final ball to win the match, tying the record for the fastest IPL half century off a rebowled ball.
"Like Rohit Sharma said, it is not going to be easy to digest. Look at the striking, he was picking his spots, everything coming from the meat of the bat.
"Even that mistimed shot almost went all the way, great effort (in the field) but it was a no ball. He ran the two, hit the next one for four before you could bat your eyelids, the last one went for six and that is it. Game, set and match. It's like someone walking past them would tell him, 'Thanks for spoiling a really good game of cricket'," said Shastri.
