Ben Cutting rubs salt on RCB's wounds ahead of SRH clash; ‘150 texts every day…as replacement player against Bengaluru'
Ben Cutting might have played just four games in 2016 season of Indian Premier League (IPL) but he will remember that year till the last breath of his life after the Australian's all-round heroics in the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad lift their only trophy in the history of the tournament so far.
Cutting became a cult hero among the Sunrisers Hyderabad fans for his 39 runs off just 15 balls towards the end of the innings. He also took two wickets to help his team beat RCB by eight runs at the Chinnaswamy stadium, thus making him a villain among the opposition supporters.
Nine years down the line, the 38-year-old doesn't play any top-tier cricket anymore. But still the Australian gets requests on Instagram to play for any team against RCB as a replacement player.
"If I load up my private messages on Instagram now, there'll be 150 every day saying, 'Can you make yourself available for the IPL as a replacement player?' for any team that's coming up against RCB," Cutting told EspnCricinfo ahead of RCB vs SRH clash in IPL 2025.
Batting first captain David Warner gave Sunrisers Hyderabad a great start before a sudden middle order collapse. Cutting, who came into bat after the fall of the fourth wicket, made small partnerships with the likes of Naman Ojha, Bipul Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take Sunrisers Hyderabad past the 200-run mark.
In fact, it was Cutting's three sixes and a four off fellow countryman Shane Watson in the final over the innings which propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to 208/7 in 20 overs. Cutting smashed three fours and four sixes for his unbeaten 39 in just 15 balls.
In reply, Cutting was in action again as the right-arm medium pacer dismissed a marauding Chris Gayle and KL Rahul to bring RCB's downfall. Since then RCB have never qualified for a final in IPL.
Overall, Cutting played just 21 IPL matches across five seasons. His cricketing career has been marred by frequent injuries. For Australia, Cutting was able to play just four ODIs and seven T20Is.
Both teams will once again face each other on Friday. However, this time, its a dead rubber as RCB have already qualified for the IPL 2025 playoffs while Sunrisers Hyderabad are out of the race.
For the unknown, the RCB vs SRH clash was slated to be hosted at the Chinnaswamy stadium but due to inclement weather in Bengaluru, the fixture has been shifted to Lucknow's Ekana Stadium. The match date and start time remains the same.
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