Bringing a disappointing end to their dream run in the IPL 2024, Sunrsiers Hyderabad slumped to an eight-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on Sunday. Pat Cummins’ Australian teammate Mitchell Starc set the tone for KKR, dismissing opener Abhishek Sharma early on with an unplayable delivery. 

On the other hand, Travis Head registered the third duck of the season despite having played blistering knocks at the start of the season. Head remained the most attacking and destructive batter for SRH, but the last three innings have been gloomy for Head. Hyderabad had a commanding season, but they failed to replicate their attacking approach in the final that was dominated by KKR bowlers. 

SRH remained unproductive with the bat after skipper Cummins decided to bat. They were bowled out for (113) which was not enough for them to win the high-powered game. Other than Starc, Andre Russell was the dominant bowler for KKR, returning with three scalps. Speaking after the defeat, Pat Cummins conceded Starc’s boisterous spell made a massive difference. 

"I thought they bowled fantastically. Unfortunately, old mate Starcy turned it on again. Obviously, not enough tonight, totally outplayed,” Cummins said at the post-match presentation.

"You hope you get a few boundaries away, you're into the game. But they bowled fantastically well, didn't really give us anything, similar to last week in Ahmedabad. They bowled really well, so, full credit."

"It was a bit of a tricky wicket. I think if we got 160, it would have been like we were in the game. Didn't feel like a 200-plus wicket, again well short, but maybe, (if) we found a few extra runs, might've given us a chance,” Cummins said.