'It is for the whole franchise, probably 60 or 70 of them, who put their heart and soul into this.'
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins says it was a gratifying experience to see the team turn around its fortunes and reach the IPL final after a disastrous 2023 season.
SRH finished last in 2023, but Cummins, who was roped in for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore, scripted a sensational turnaround for the franchise, taking the team to the final with a 36-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 in Chennai on Friday.
"The boys have been fantastic all season. There's a great vibe in the squad as you can see and the final was the goal at the start of the season and we made it," declared the Australian at the post-match presentation.
"It is for the whole franchise, probably 60 or 70 of them, who put their heart and soul into this. It is really gratifying and hopefully one more left."
Sent in to bat, SRH posted 175 for 9, riding on Heinrich Klaasen's 34-ball 50 and contributions from Travis Head (34) and Rahul Tripathi (37).
The spinners then joined the party, with Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) sharing five wickets as RR were restricted to just 139 for 7 in 20 overs. Cummins (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/13) also scalped one each.
"We knew our strength was our batting and we wouldn't underestimate the experience we have in this squad. It's a dream having Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), Nattu (T Natarajan) and (Jaydev) Unadkat; makes my job easy.
On Abhishek's bowling, Cummins said: "That was a surprise. Tried to stick one out of him with a couple of right-handers and he bowled beautifully and those two won it with their bowling in the middle overs.
"170 was a tough chase and had we got a couple of wickets we knew we had a chance."
Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson rued that his batters couldn't find a way to tackle the spinners.
“It was a big game. I am really proud of the way we bowled in the first innings. We were found short of options in the middle overs against their spin; that's where we lost the game," he said.
"It's very hard to guess actually when we are expecting some dew or when we are not. The wicket started behaving differently in the second innings, the ball started turning a bit, they used that advantage really well.
"They bowled their spin in the middle overs against our right-handed batsmen, that's where they were one-up against us."
Samson said the batters could have tried something different to upset the spinners.
"Against their left-arm spin, when the ball was stopping, we could have tried a bit more reverse-sweep or maybe use of the crease a bit more. They also bowled really well."
On Sandeep Sharma, who bowled beautifully on the slow track in the middle overs, Samson said: "I am really happy for him. From not being picked in the auctions and coming back as a replacement, the way he bowled, he has definitely delivered.
"If we look at the numbers, Sandeep Sharma, in the last two years, he will be the next guy after (Jasprit) Bumrah. He has done a great job."
He also lavished praise on the young players of his side.
"We have had some brilliant games not only this season but from the last three years; it has been a great project for our franchise. We have found some really great talent for the country.
"Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and a lot of them are looking really exciting not only for RR but definitely for the Indian cricket team. We have had some great seasons from the last three years."
