Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin said bowling groups should have deep understanding of batters’ aggressive scoring methods in the IPL, leveraging his argument around Pat Cummins preying on Punjab Kings’ opener Priyansh Arya’s penchant for the pull shot.

SRH skipper Cummins bluffed Arya with a bouncer outside the off-stump, knowing the latter’s preference to play the pull instead of an upper cut.

Arya fell for the trap, pulling Cummins into the hands of Eshan Malinga at deep square leg.

“Obviously Pat Cummins and (head coach) Dan (Vettori) are very detailed and I think you have to be detailed nowadays because of how powerful batting units are, particularly top threes, top fours of all the IPL teams and particularly in the power plays,” Franklin said in the post-match press conference.

Cummins’ spell of two for 34 had a big role in SRH’s 33-run win over PBKS in their IPL match here on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) night.

Franklin said the SRH bowling unit’s pre-match feedback helped them devise plans for the marauding Punjab batters, who have been excellent in the chase so far in this IPL.

“I think sometimes you don’t necessarily have to bowl the ball that the field is expecting and I think we saw the ball before that he bowled a pretty good bounce on the same sort of line and he obviously called the bluff a little bit, executed the same sort of delivery and created the opportunity.

“So, you know, where the strengths and weaknesses are of the opposition batters, obviously all our bowlers are well across it. So, that was the feedback that our bowling group got and obviously we used it a lot throughout Punjab innings,” he added.

The former New Zealand all-rounder praised pacer Malinga for producing some fine spells, particularly at the death overs.

“I think he actually bowled pretty well for us at the back end of the competition and I think you roll forward another year he’s had that experience of playing an IPL before. He feels part of it now so he’s obviously come into this year’s IPL and got performances early and obviously that gives you confidence as a player.

“He’s able to have a level of consistency with how he’s been able to go about every game and execute. The different deliveries that he wants to bowl within the 24 balls that he gets in a game and he’s obviously creating opportunities and I think he’s up near the top of the purple cap,” he said.

With 16 wickets, the Sri Lankan pacer currently shares the second spot in the bowling chart with Gujarat Titans’ Kagiso Rabada.

Franklin expressed satisfaction over all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s consistent contributions with ball and bat.

“He’s confident, he’s playing really well with the bat, and then the bowling as well. He’s probably just nudged his pace up a little bit this season. He’s swinging the new ball when he’s getting that opportunity to bowl in the power play and again he’s creating opportunities.” Meanwhile, PBKS’ bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said their poor catching led the team chasing an above-par target.

“Yes, I think it was very important to take those catches because catching could have changed the momentum of the game. There would have been fresh batters on the ground, on the pitch and we could have executed our plans more effectively and then ended up maybe giving 50 runs less.

“We definitely don’t want to be chasing 230, 240 regularly. I think when we have that opportunity to get the opposition who has a very strong batting order in about 180, maybe 170 max, and to lose out on that opportunity, what happens is then we shift the momentum towards them.” Bahutule lauded Cooper Connolly for hitting a hundred, and said his unbeaten 107 off 59 balls helped PBKS get near SRH’s 235 for 4.

The PBKS ended up with 202 for seven, courtesy Connolly’s innings and did not suffer a huge dip in net run rate.

“We knew at some stage it was a losing cause. But he just made sure that how we can get closer to the total because it also helps us in our net run rate. And that’s what he did beautifully. I think he’s learning, being in India, playing in the conditions.

“The way he has adapted as an overseas player has been fabulous. To come and really play in different venues, different pitches and perform so well. So I think he’s got a good future ahead of him,” he added.

Published – May 07, 2026 11:49 am IST

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Travis Head, left, and Punjab Kings’ Xavier Bartlett, centre, and Cooper Connolly, second left, interact during a practice session, on May 5, 2026, ahead of IPL T20 match between the two teams at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

High on confidence after making their first playoffs in three years, Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim for a second-place finish in the IPL points table when they take on Punjab Kings in their final league game in Hyderabad on May 19.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has already qualified for the playoffs, takes on a depleted Punjab Kings in its last IPL league match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on May 19 afternoon.

Sunrisers, with 15 points from 13 outings, should look to claim full points against a team which will not have the services of key players like Sam Curran, who led the team in the absence of injured Shikhar Dhawan, and hard-hitting Jonny Bairstow in what should be yet another good IPL wicket if the weather stays clear.

Importantly, the home side played its last game on May 8 when it drubbed Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets and with many players taking a long break, it will be interesting to see how quickly they regain the momentum ahead of the playoffs.

Imposing batters

For most of the league so far, Sunrisers relied heavily on the imposing batting line-up. And, to its delight, the senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back at his best in the last few games, providing the crucial breakthroughs in the company of captain Pat Cummins and left-armers T. Natarajan and Jaydev Unadkat.

On form, it should be an easy outing for the Cummins’ men against PBKS.

On the other hand, Kings’ pacers Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel — who is the leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets in the IPL this season — hold the key in keeping a check on the run-flow with leggie Rahul Chahar expected to raise the bar.

In batting, Kings badly need the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, captain Jitesh Sharma, and Ashutosh Sharma to score big for the bowlers to have a go.

Teams (from):

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Anmolpreet Singh, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Upendra Yadav (wk), Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Agarwal.

Punjab Kings: Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jitesh Sharma (c & wk), Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Match starts at 3:30pm IST.