Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins has given credit to Ehsan Malinga after they registered a comprehensive six-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. Cummins said the Sri Lankan bowler has been the reason why they are winning matches.

Malinga returned with impressive figures of 1-29 in his quota of four overs against the Mumbai Indians. The right-arm pacer accounted for Suryakumar Yadav and bowled an economical spell when MI posted a par score of 243 runs on the board.

Malinga is currently the Purple Cap holder in the ongoing season with 15 scalps in nine matches at an average of 18.93 and an economy rate of 9.16.

Speaking on having sympathy for the bowlers, Pat Cummins said in the post-match presentation, “Yeah, I’ve got a lot. How long do we have? (laughs) I think I said last game, it’s these high-scoring games, there’s not a lot in it for the bowlers. But you do feel like, even at the end there, if you nail one really good yorker, it can still be the difference in the match. So bowlers – and really good bowlers – you know, like Eshan (Malinga) in our team, he’s a big reason why we’ve been winning these games as well. I think he’s got the purple cap as well. You can still have a huge impact. Everything’s going well at the moment, so keep hanging in there.”

Cummins said the target of 244 was chaseable as the pitch was a batting paradise.

He added, “I always thought it was tough to start with, but knowing our batting lineup and obviously a very good pitch, definitely thought it was within our sights. A few things had to go right, but I thought it was chaseable.”

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma gave a flying start to SRH, adding 129 runs off just 52 balls.

SRH will next take on KKR at Hyderabad on Sunday.