Pat Cummins backs SRH despite loss, praises Aniket Verma's impact

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 30 (ANI): Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins remained optimistic despite his team's defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam. SRH suffered a seven-wicket loss, their second consecutive setback, but Cummins highlighted the positives, particularly Aniket Verma's performance.
Aniket, who was relatively unknown before the tournament, delivered a stellar knock of 74 off 41 balls, including five boundaries and six sixes, giving SRH a fighting chance. However, early wickets and run-outs hampered their progress, preventing them from setting a more formidable total.
Speaking after the match, Cummins acknowledged the team's struggles but emphasized that minor adjustments could turn things around.
"Aniket gave us a score, but we lost a few early wickets. Not all bad shots, run-outs too--it happens. I don't think it's margins with our style; not everything went our way in the last two games. Maybe we just need to do one or two things differently, and the results would change," Cummins said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
He also heaped praise on Aniket, calling his performance "super impressive" and expressing confidence in the squad.
"Aniket wasn't well known but was super impressive coming into the tournament, he was fantastic and gave us half a chance. Overall, guys have shown glimpses of what they can do, don't think we'll change too much," he added.
Despite back-to-back losses, Cummins' faith in his team remains strong, as SRH looks to bounce back in their upcoming matches.
Coming to the match, SRH won the toss and opted to bat first. Starc made them regret the decision as SRH was reduced to 37/4. A 77-run stand between Aniket Verma (74 in 41 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 in 19 balls, with two fours and two sixes) brought some balance to the game. But later on Kuldeep Yadav (3/22) and Starc (5/35) took wickets quickly to bundle out SRH for 163 in 18.4 overs.
During the run-chase of 164 runs, an 81-run opening stand between Jake Fraser McGurk (38 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Faf du Plessis (50 in 27 balls, with three fours and three sixes) ended the match in the first 10 overs itself. After DC sunk to 115/3 in 11.3 overs, a partnership between Abishek Porel (34* in 18 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Tristan Stubbs (21 in 14 balls, with three fours) took DC to a seven wicket win with four overs left.
Starc was given the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)