Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer couldn’t contain his smile after his side chased down the target of 162 with 24 balls to spare against the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League match at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. He praised Pat Cummins’ game-changing knock but said the side “still haven’t played the best cricket.”

 “I was just watching the ball fly! I couldn’t believe. Outstanding from him. They just stuck to the plans, and before we could even execute the plan, Pat just finished it. When I went in to bat, I told him [Venky] to just time the ball. Batters batting in top four – one has to play the anchor. I was just saying that we still haven’t played the best cricket yet. I think the pitch was the same in the powerplay of both innings. The ball was bouncing when I went in to bat,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation. 

Sent to bat first, an 83-run fourth-wicket stand between Suryakumar Yadav (52) and Tilak Varma(38 not out), Pollard (22 not out) helped lift MI to 161/4. 

In reply, KKRchased down the target of 162 with four overs to spare. 

Playing his first game of the IPL 2022 season, Pat Cummins scored56 off 15 balls. He joined KL Rahul to equal the record for the fastest fifty ever in the Indian Premier League. 

“I am more surprised [with that innings]! It just came off. I was not trying to overthink. That’s really satisfying. The ball seems to fly here… So just hitting in the shorter side. I am sure it sends a message…! We were lucky to keep the core of the squad like last year. Happy with how it came out [with the ball]. Overall pretty happy,” Pat Cummins said after winning the Player of the Match award.