Kolkata: The Indian Premier League has, over the years, proved to be a great leveller. The spectacle has seen some of the most reputed names in international cricket warming the benches - be it Indian or overseas players - and Kolkata Knight Riders’ last game against Gujarat Titans which they lost narrowly was a very good example.
Pat Cummins, the Ashes-winning Test captain of Australia and one of the biggest crowdpullers of the modern game and Aaron Finch - his compatriot and T20 World Cup winning captain - were both sitting out during the Knights’ last outing against Titans. Cummins, acknowledged as the leader of their pace bowling unit and someone who had clobbered the fastest 50 of this season so far (jointly with K.L.Rahul), was benched in favour of the Kiwi seamer Tim Southee while Finch was reported to be having a fitness issue after coming good with a 28-ball 58 against Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring run-chase where they ended on the losing side.
The selection of playing XI of a IPL franchise, which has a limit of four overseas players, can be a harsh exercise. Cummins, who was not handed the new ball against the strong opening combination of in-form Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal against Royals, came on second change with the ball getting softer and got a rough treatment from both openers to end with unflattering figures of 4-0-50-1 with an economy rate of 12.50. The seasoned Australian also repeatedly dug it in short instead of pitching it up or resorting to the slower ones - and it only proved counter productive.
The possible fallout came in the next game when Southee, who is more in control of the tricks of trade of the T20 bowler, played a key role along with Andre Russell to end with figures of 4-0-24-3 and restrict the Titans to a modest 156. It will hence be not surprising to see the Kiwi get more game-time ahead of the Aussie whose calling card in pace and bounce.
Finch, for whom this is the seventh IPL franchise, appeared to have hit the ground running in his very second game and should be seen in action against Delhi Capitals in their crunch match on Thursday - fitness permitting. The Knights, who were in quandary to get their opening combination right after releasing Shubman Gill and England batter Alex Hales pulled out late citing bio bubble fatigue, eventually sent a SoS to Finch via their coach Brendon McCullum as the Aussie remained unsold in the Mega Auction.
We call him IPL Pat because he bats a lot better in IPL than he does for Australia. He’s played some great innings for KKR and he works hard on his batting - so it was great to see him continue that aggressive mindset batting at number seven to come out and keep swinging hard from ball one and change the momentum of the game, it was brilliant
Finch, who had joined the Knights squad only after completing Australia’s white ball series in Pakistan earlier this month, said he was really taken aback by Cummins’ extraordinary hitting against Mumbai Indians. ‘‘I was taken aback by it! We call him IPL Pat because he bats a lot better in IPL than he does for Australia.
''He’s played some great innings for KKR and he works hard on his batting - so it was great to see him continue that aggressive mindset batting at number seven to come out and keep swinging hard from ball one and change the momentum of the game, it was brilliant,’’ Finch told KKR media in an interview.
Can Cummins and Finch be seen playing together again in the KKR shirt this season? It can be quite an intriguing question!
