Pat Cummins more than made up with the bat what he gave away with the ball to power Kolkata Knight Riders to a crushing 5-wicket win against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022, in Pune.
Chasing 162 to win, thanks to a 23-run last over from Cummins, KKR stormed home in just 16 overs, courtesy an unbeaten 15-ball 56 by the Australian pacer.
Needing 35 runs in the last five overs, Cummins scored all of them in the 16th over bowled by Daniel Sams. He hit four fours and six sixes in all. He brought up his fifty in 14 balls, equalling the record for the fastest IPL half-century.
Opener Venkatesh Iyer played the anchor role, with an unbeaten 41-ball 50.
Earlier, opting to bowl after winning the toss, KKR saw MI recover from 55 for three in the 11th over to post 161 for four. For Mumbai, comeback man Suryakumar Yadav made 52 off 36 balls, while Tilak Varma chipped in with 38 in 27 deliveries.
But it was Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 22 off five balls that gave the score some respectability.
In reply, KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals even as Iyer held up one end. At 83/4, KKR were in a spot of bother but Cummins's blitzkrieg ensured they jumped to the top of the table with three wins in four matches.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians: 161/4 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 52, Tilak Varma ; Pat Cummins 2/49, Umesh Yadav 1/25).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 162/5 in 16 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 50 not out, Pat Cummins 56 not out 56; Murugan Ashwin 2/25).