Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins delivered a decisive spell against Chennai Super Kings on May 18, striking early to dismantle the opposition’s top order while also achieving a major personal milestone.
After CSK opted to bat first, their decision quickly unravelled as they slipped to four wickets for under 100 runs. Cummins played a central role in that collapse, removing key batters in the opening phase of the innings.
Cummins Strikes Early Against CSK
Introduced in the third over, Cummins made an immediate impact. On the third delivery of his opening over, he dismissed Sanju Samson, setting the tone for the innings. He followed it up with two more wickets across his next two overs, accounting for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma.
His early breakthroughs slowed CSK’s momentum significantly in what is a crucial fixture for SRH, with IPL 2026 playoff qualification at stake.
Milestone: 200 T20 Wickets
During the spell, Cummins reached 200 wickets in T20 cricket, achieving the landmark with the dismissal of Ruturaj Gaikwad. He became the 131st player in the format’s history to reach the milestone, doing so in his 177th T20 innings.
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Rashid Khan remains the leading wicket-taker in T20 history with 718 wickets, while Adam Zampa holds the record among Australian bowlers with 414 scalps.
Cummins Moves Ahead of Hardik Pandya
Cummins’ three-wicket performance also saw him move past Hardik Pandya as the leading wicket-taker among active IPL captains. He now has 42 wickets as a captain in the tournament, overtaking Pandya’s tally of 40.
Most Wickets in IPL as Captain
- 57 – Shane Warne
- 41 – Pat Cummins
- 40 – Hardik Pandya
- 30 – Anil Kumble
- 25 – Ravi Ashwin
Return After Injury Layoff
Cummins’ performance gains further significance given his recent return to action. The SRH skipper missed the first half of IPL 2026 due to a back injury, during which Ishan Kishan led the side.
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Since his comeback, Cummins has taken eight wickets in six innings, with this outing against CSK marking his most impactful performance of the season so far. He finished with figures of 3 for 28 from his four overs.
At the time of writing, Chennai Super Kings were 151 for 4 after 17 overs, still recovering from the early damage inflicted by Cummins.
