“I thought they bowled fantastically,” Cummins said at the post-match presentation. “Unfortunately, [my] old mate Starcy turned it on again. Obviously, not enough tonight, [we were] totally outplayed.”

SRH never recovered from the damage caused by Starc and were eventually bundled out for 113. The longest partnership that SRH managed was for the ninth wicket, and it lasted just 22 balls, which meant they could neither hit their way out of trouble nor take the innings deep and explode at the end.

“It was a bit of a tricky wicket,” Cummins said. “I think if we got 160, it would have been like we were in the game. [It] didn’t feel like a 200-plus wicket, again well short. But maybe [if] we found a few extra runs [it] might’ve given us a chance.

Despite the failure in the final, SRH’s batting line-up has pushed the boundaries of being aggressive. Their openers, Abhishek and Travis Head, have been instrumental in this IPL being a high-scoring season. The duo and the team racked multiple records and did it repeatedly to set the benchmark regardless of the risk involved, which pleased Cummins while looking back at the season.