Pat Cummins, one of the most admired pace bowlers in world cricket, has revealed that his time at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during IPL 2026 has helped sharpen his understanding of what makes their bowling tick. Speaking after SRH\u2019s latest success, Cummins said he has been paying close attention to the way his teammates have been executing plans across the season, highlighting Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain for the impact they have consistently delivered.<\/p>\n
Malinga has emerged as SRH\u2019s leading wicket-taker, claiming 19 scalps from 14 matches, while Sakib\u2014making his debut in the competition\u2014has already picked up 15 wickets in 10 outings. Their combined influence proved decisive in SRH\u2019s 55-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday night. During the chase, SRH\u2019s slower-ball craft played a key role in disrupting RCB\u2019s rhythm, and both bowlers finished with figures that underlined their control: a combined 8-0-64-3. What made the effort even more impressive was the context\u2014SRH had posted a formidable 255 for 4 after batting first, meaning the target was always going to ask for accuracy and composure under pressure.<\/p>\n
The pair also set the tone early, contributing heavily during the powerplay. Together, they bowled three overs in that opening phase, taking a wicket apiece to keep RCB from building momentum after Venkatesh Iyer provided SRH\u2019s opponents with a quick start.<\/p>\n
After the match, Cummins praised their work in detail. \u201cThey\u2019ve been fantastic,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve actually learned a lot off those guys as well\u2014the way Eshan has bowled all season, especially in that powerplay. He\u2019s been the form bowler of the competition, using his slower balls and mixing things up. And of course, Sakib as well. It\u2019s a captain\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the win, SRH closed the league stage on 18 points level with RCB and Gujarat Titans (GT), but the other two sides edged ahead into the top two positions on the strength of superior net run rate. SRH\u2019s batting effort put them within reach of leapfrogging into the top two, but the math demanded a specific outcome: they would have needed to hold RCB to fewer than 166 to make that climb possible.<\/p>\n
Cummins acknowledged that SRH made a genuine push to try and force their way into the top two, but he also felt the challenge was always significant. He pointed to the reality of playing conditions in Hyderabad, where the batting surface has often made scoring easier, making it tough to defend smaller margins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty good wicket. I knew a lot of things had to go our way,\u201d Cummins said. \u201cYeah, it got close. I think they were trying to make sure they got to that score [166], so we threw a few different things at them, but yeah, it\u2019s still a big win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, RCB will meet GT in Qualifier 1 on May 26. SRH\u2019s campaign continues in the Eliminator on May 27, when they will take on one of three contenders for the final playoff spot\u2014Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings (PBKS), or Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)\u2014as the race for the last berth reaches its climax.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pat Cummins, one of the most admired pace bowlers in world cricket, has revealed that his time at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during IPL 2026 has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Pat Cummins on SRH IPL 2026: Bowling Plans Updated","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Pat Cummins reveals how IPL 2026 with SRH sharpened his bowling plans, spotlighting Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain\u2019s key execution.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n