Shreyas Iyer will hope to end his trophy-less run after appearing in his second Indian Premier League (IPL) final in the last four years on Sunday. Champions in the 2012 and 2014 editions of the cash-rich league, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made it to their fourth IPL final under the leadership of superstar batter - Iyer. The Kolkata Knight Riders squared off against Pat Cummins' Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2024 final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

While Iyer is eyeing KKR's third title in their fourth final, Cummins is on the cusp of securing another major title in the IPL 2024 final. Under Cummins' leadership, Australia broke millions of hearts by winning the 50-over World Cup against Rohit Sharma’s Team India last year. Before the stunning win over Team India at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, pacer Cummins guided Australia to its first-ever ICC World Test Championship win.

With Iyer's KKR side standing in Cummins' away, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan reserved special praise for the SRH skipper in the build-up to the final. "If you look at Pat Cummins' captaincy, he bowled with the new ball. He is actually sometimes come into the game where he hasn't bowled in the first half of the game. He's actually bowling in the second half of half of the game," Pathan told Star Sports.

"He has sometimes bowled the penultimate over. He has bowled last over as well. So when it comes to playing a different role as a leader and telling the team 'Ok, without telling him the words he said, I'm gonna take the responsibility. I'm gonna do the tough job. I'm not gonna run away from all the responsibilities. You guys should do as well," Pathan added.

Cummins is the second-highest wicket-taker for the Hyderabad side this season. The Australian skipper has picked up 17 wickets for the 2016 champions in 15 games. Cummins is only behind pacer T Natarajan, who has 19 wickets in 13 matches. Appointed as the leader of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2024, Cummins was roped in by the 2016 winners for a staggering sum of INR 20.50 crore.

'He's the captain of the season': Irfan on Cummins

"And this is the best thing about Pat Cummins. And this is why I have a question before the auction that how can he come here in this IPL where he has not done well, what can he do? He has actually brought all the experience and he's got a big heart. When you have a big heart as a leader, all the youngsters come around as well. I really think he's the captain of the season so far for me," he concluded.

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