Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 7 : Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins expressed delight and said that the team was "clinical" after they defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 33 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Wednesday.
SRH defeated PBKS at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to go to the top of the points table, despite a brilliant unbeaten century from PBKS' Cooper Connolly.
Cummins, who won the Player of the Match award for his contributions with the ball, praised his team's performance, highlighting their strong batting effort and clinical bowling display, noting that defending a total against a strong Punjab Kings side was challenging but well-executed.
"I think Punjab are a really good side, they were number one coming into this. I thought the batters to get up to what we did was sensational. I think that and then to close it out, no matter what the score is, bowling second against a side like that is always tough, but I thought we were quite clinical," Cummins said at the post-match presentations.
Cummins said his team prefers an aggressive approach from the start, especially with players like Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, focusing on maximising runs rather than setting targets, while staying flexible to adjust as the innings evolves.
"I think we're pretty good at playing at our own pace. Don't try and start off conservatively. It's not really Abhi or Travis's style. So it's just trying to max out as much as we can, not really thinking about a total or anything. And then maybe later on in the innings, if it takes a different direction, we're pretty good at adjusting," he said.
Cummins expressed satisfaction with the result but also praised Cooper Connolly for his strong batting form this season, noting he has been a key performer, and added that it's a positive phase for Australian players overall.
"Yeah, happy (to see Connolly doing well). Yeah, good result. Good to see the Aussies doing well. He's been a star this season with the bat for them. Yeah, not bowling at the moment, but still showing his worth as a batter. So good time for Oz," Cummins said.
During the game, chasing 236, PBKS suffered an early collapse, slipping to 23/3, which proved costly. Connolly stood out with a superb 107* off 59 balls--the youngest overseas IPL centurion--but lacked enough support as PBKS finished on 202/7.
SRH had posted a massive 235/4, powered by fifties from Heinrich Klaasen (69*) and Ishan Kishan (55), along with quick starts from Travis Head (38) and Abhishek Sharma (35).
Coming to SRH's bowling, Pat Cummins rotated his bowlers effectively to ensure PBKS never gained the momentum needed for a miracle. Cummins (2/34), Shivang Kumar (2/45), Sakib Hussain (1/40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/11 in 2 overs) were the wicket takers for the hosts.