Cummins sat out the 2023 tournament to focus on international cricket but became even hotter property after leading his side to the World Test Championship and last month’s 50-over World Cup on Indian soil.
Four teams vied for the fast bowler’s signature and Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up paying 20.5 crore rupees, eclipsing the previous high of 18.5 crore (£1.77m) Punjab Kings paid for English all-rounder Sam Curran last year.
Cummins, 30, had entered with a base price of just under £200,000 and saw the bidding war up his fee by a factor of 10.
Sunrisers had plenty of budget to play with having released Brook after one season of a £1.3m deal, with the Yorkshireman picking up a healthy but much-reduced payday with the Capitals.
He hit one superb century in his first IPL campaign but was otherwise badly short of runs with just 190 in 11 matches.
Woakes was later drafted for just under £400,000 by Punjab, joining his England team-mates Curran and Liam Livingstone.
Sunrisers also splurged on Cummins’ fellow Australian Travis Head, who capped a stellar year with a match-winning 137 in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. He cost around £645,000 (6.8 crore) as he returned to the tournament for the first time since 2017.
West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell was the first player to go under the hammer at the event in Dubai and fetched a surprisingly lavish £700,000 bid from Rajasthan Royals, while New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell scooped the biggest cheque of his career when he went to Chennai Super Kings for £1.3million.
CSK also signed Mitchell’s fellow Kiwi Rachin Ravindra, the breakout star of the World Cup, for a modest £170,000.
Having seen fellow newcomers Gujarat Titans progress to the final, the Super Giants were looking to take a step towards joining them in Wednesday's eliminator.
Yet they were undone by an astonishing innings from Patidar, who propelled RCB to a 14-run win.
Patidar raced to a 28-ball half-century and a 49-ball hundred, his innings comprising of 12 fours and seven sixes and lifting RCB to 207-4.
Dinesh Karthik provided late support, hitting five fours and a six for his unbeaten 37, ensuring a hugely imposing target that proved to beyond the Super Giants.
Lucknow's chase was extremely admirable and saw them rack up 14 sixes at Eden Gardens in their 193-6.
Captain KL Rahul predictably led the charge with 79 - surpassing 600 runs for the season.
However, when he scooped Josh Hazlewood to short fine leg and the same bowler had Krunal Pandya caught and bowled from the next delivery, the Super Giants had a mountain to climb heading into the final over on 184-6.
Harshal Patel made sure RCB's commanding position was not let slip as he delivered at the death to keep Evin Lewis and Dushmantha Chameera from engineering a late turnaround, sending them through to Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals with a place in the final on the line.
Patidar an unlikely hero
Patidar was unsold at the 2022 auction, with RCB signing him at the lowest possible price as an injury replacement midway through the competition.
His acquisition now looks extremely astute after Patidar delivered the fastest IPL hundred since Mayank Agarwal's 45-ball century in September 2020.
Hazlewood topples Super Giants
Hazlewood had sent down three wides in the 19th over before finding his accuracy to claim the wickets of Rahul and Krunal.
His team-mate Harshal bowled 11 dot balls in his 1-25 and removed the dangerous Marcus Stoinis prior to Hazlewood's key salvo and RCB will need that duo to replicate their performances if they are to progress to the final.
Saurabh Tiwary made 45 and Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 40 as the reigning champions overhauled their opponents' score of 135-6 with an over to spare on Tuesday.
Looking to beat Mumbai for a third time in a row – a feat they had not managed since a run between the 2008-09 seasons – Punjab Kings simply failed to fire with the bat. They appeared to be making solid progress when their opening pair reached 36 without loss, only to then lose four wickets for the addition of just 12 runs.
Kieron Pollard claimed two in one over, including dismissing fellow West Indian Chris Gayle for one. Captain KL Rahul followed soon after, hitting a slower bouncer straight to Jasprit Bumrah at short fine leg to depart for 21.
Aiden Markram led a recovery of sorts, finishing as the top scorer in the innings with 42. Deepak Hooda contributed 28 while Harpreet Brar ended up unbeaten on 14, though both struggled to up the run-rate in the closing overs.
Ravi Bishnoi provided hope for Punjab Kings by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav with successive deliveries in the powerplay, but Pollard came out at number six in the order to rush his team to victory, making 15 not out from just seven balls.
Bowlers help dethrone Kings
Mumbai Indians have lost 13 games against Punjab Kings in the history of the IPL, the joint-most for the franchise against any rival in the tournament.
However, they came out on top this time thanks mainly to their bowling attack. Krunal Pandya and Bumrah both claimed 1-24, while Nathan Coulter-Nile's four-over stint conceded just 19 runs.
All-round excellence in Abu Dhabi
Pollard may be better known for his big-hitting exploits with the bat, but the all-rounder has now reached the milestone of 300 wickets in Twenty20 cricket, meaning he becomes the first player to achieve both that feat and also score 10,000 runs in the format.
He dismissed Gayle for just the second time in T20 action, tempting the left-hander to have a go at a slower delivery that only ended up in the safe hands of Hardik Pandya.
All-rounder Pollard claimed 2-12 but Chennai posted 218-4 in their innings, with Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu all hitting half-centuries.
Rayudu top scored with a brutal 72 from just 27 deliveries after Moeen (58) and Du Plessis (50) had put on 108 for the second wicket.
However, the defending champions handed the Super Kings just a second loss of the 2021 season, reaching their target from the final delivery with four wickets to spare as Pollard accepted the responsibility of seeing his team over the line in astonishing fashion.
The West Indies international smashed eight sixes as he finished up unbeaten on 87 from just 34 balls. He hit the penultimate delivery of the contest for six off Lungi Ngidi, then managed to sneak through for the two runs required from the last.
Pollard was dropped by Du Plessis in the 18th over and that proved to be costly for leaders CSK in a dramatic contest at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Quinton de Kock (38) and Rohit Sharma (35) had put on 71 for the first wicket in 7.4 overs, but the openers were dismissed by Moeen and Shardul Thakur respectively before the halfway point of the run chase.
Pollard stepped forward to pull off Mumbai's highest chase, though, with the Indians taking 48 runs off the last three overs to move just two points behind CSK in fourth place.
Bumrah toils as Super Kings prosper
Chennai endured a mid-innings wobble – slipping from 112-1 to 116-4 after losing two wickets in as many balls in a Pollard over - but Rayudu's onslaught carried them well beyond the 200 barrier.
Jasprit Bumrah was one of the bowlers who suffered the most. The India international finished with figures of 1-56 from his four overs, the highest number of runs he has conceded in the format.
Powerhouse Pollard completes record chase
Mumbai were 81-3 in the 10th over when Pollard arrived at the crease to produce an incredible display of clean striking, racing to a 17-ball half-century.
Sam Curran removed Hardik Pandya and Jimmy Neesham in the penultimate over after the England all-rounder had trapped Krunal Pandya leg before. However, it was not enough for Chennai.
Pollard has featured in 13 IPL seasons for Mumbai, winning the tournament five times and also lifting the Champions League trophy twice.
The former West Indies captain on Tuesday announced he has played his last game for the Indians, but will turn out for the MI Emirates in the UAE T20 League.
All-rounder Pollard is Mumbai's second-highest run-scorer with 3,915 and has struck the most sixes for the franchise, clearing the rope 22 times.
The 35-year--old stated: "It hasn't been the easiest decision to make as I will keep playing for a few more years, but I understand that this incredible franchise which has achieved so much needs to transition and if I'm no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either.
"Once an MI always an MI. I am immensely proud, honoured and blessed to have represented the biggest and most successful team in the IPL for the past 13 seasons.
"Most sincerely, I express my deep appreciation to Mukesh, Nita and Akash Ambani [Mumbai's owners] for their tremendous love, support and respect I have always felt and for the confidence they placed in me. I recall our first encounter when they welcomed me with open arms saying, “We are family”.
"Those were not just mere words, but demonstrated by their every action throughout my time with Mumbai Indians."
The Rohit Sharma-led side finished two points ahead of the Capitals to win the group phase and their superiority once again told at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Shreyas Iyer (65 not out) and Rishabh Pant (56) helped Delhi finish with a respectable 156-7 after a poor start but their opponents had little trouble in chasing down that tally.
Rohit Sharma (68) reached another milestone as he moved past 4,000 runs for his franchise with a fine knock on his landmark 200th appearance in the competition.
A late fightback from the Capitals was not enough to stop Mumbai from becoming just the second side after Chennai Super Kings to win back-to-back IPL crowns, as they triumphed with eight balls to spare.
Delhi were competing in their maiden final and were in serious trouble after electing to bat first, losing their top three for just 22 runs.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis has enjoyed an impressive tournament, scoring 352 runs and taking 12 wickets ahead of the final, but he was sent packing from the very first ball.
Trent Boult (3-30) removed Stoinis and then Ajinkya Rahane (2) soon after and Shikhar Dhawan (15) offered little respite as he was castled by off-spinner Jayant Yadav.
Captain Iyer and Pant helped steady the ship, however, putting together 96 runs for the fourth wicket.
The loss of Pant proved important as Mumbai seized the initiative, with Shimron Hetmyer (5) and Axar Patel (9) quickly following - the last five overs yielding only 38 runs
Quinton de Kock put 20 runs on the board for Mumbai before Stoinis, desperate to make amends for his disappointing batting display, got a wicket off his first ball.
But skipper Rohit kept the runs flowing, registering four maximums, while Suryakumar Yadav also contributed until he was run out for 19.
Rohit registered another half-century before a fine catch from Lalit Yadav ended his season, though it was too little too late for the Capitals.
Ishan Kishan (33 not out) moved his side closer to the 157-run target and it was left to Krunal Pandya to stab an Anrich Nortje yorker away for the trophy-clinching single.
Holders CSK had won four of their first six Indian Premier League matches this season, but consecutive losses to LSG in the space of five days have seen them slip to fifth in the standings.
Their latest IPL defeat on Tuesday came after CSK had left out Rachin Ravindra, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting, with Mitchell coming in at number three.
While captain Gaikwad scored an impressive unbeaten 108, Rahane managed just one run and Mitchell fell for just 11 off 10 balls.
LSG then chased down their 211 target for victory with three balls left, inspired by a superb innings of 124 not out by Marcus Stoinis.
Mitchell was a major acquisition by CSK at the IPL auction, but so far he has managed just 146 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 123.72.
"There's a lot of pressure obviously," Fleming said when asked about Mitchell's poor form.
"Getting up the order is more comfortable for him. Me putting him down the order in the hitting role wasn't his best position. So, we've looked to rectify that and get him up the order where he has had his best performances internationally.
"That might take a little bit of time, but the top three need to contribute the majority of runs.
"Ruturaj did that, so hopefully he can continue his form and the others can pick that up."
CSK are back in action at home against in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday and Fleming accepts there is work to do, but takes comfort from the fact their defeats have not been comprehensive.
He added: "We are not firing on all cylinders by any means but we are in each game and we are asking teams to play well to beat us.
"We just have to make sure we are good enough to win and we have been. Again [versus LSG] we created a chance, so it is not like we are down and out.
"But we know we could be stronger. We have just got to get a little bit better. It is a mixture of trying to find that [combination at the top of the order] and also form.
"We are a little bit uncomfortable with some areas, so we are trying to find not a quick fix, but the right combination where players are going to contribute for the back end of this tournament.
"We have had injuries, we have been a little bit unsettled, but the main thing is getting guys in key areas and in form."
IPL 2024 continues on Wednesday when Delhi Capitals face Gujarat Titans, with both teams sitting outside the playoff positions as things stand.
West Indian hard-hitting left-hander Nicholas Pooran made history during his Lucknow Super Giants 2025 TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) season opening defeat against the Delhi Capitals on Monday.
West Indian left-hander Nicholas Pooran continued his sizzling hot start to this season’s TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) with another half-century to lead his Lucknow Super Giants to a six-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans in Lucknow on Saturday.
Pooran went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for 10.75 crore (USD 1.43 million).
The Sunrisers will be his third IPL franchise after previously representing the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings.
Jason Holder, formerly of the Sunrisers, will be suiting up for the new Lucknow Super Giants after being snapped up for 8.5 crore (USD 1.16 million).
Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer were the only other West Indians sold on day 1 to the Chennai Super Kings for 4.4 crore (USD 583,953.04) and the Rajasthan Royals for 8.5 crore, respectively.
Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard were all retained by their respective franchises before the auction.
Indian left-hander Ishan Kishan had the honour of being the most expensive pick-up of this year’s auction after going to the Mumbai Indians for 15.25 crore (USD 2.03 million).
Day 2 of the auction takes place on Sunday.
The hosts first posted 199-8 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Quinton de Kock was the main scorer for the Super Giants with a 38-ball 54 at the top of the innings.
Nicholas Pooran, who captained the team in this game, hit three fours and three sixes on his way to 42 off just 21 balls while Krunal Pandya finished 43* off 22 balls including four fours and two sixes.
Sam Curran took 3-28 from his four overs for the Kings.
Punjab were then restricted to 178-5 from 20 overs in their reply despite a 50-ball 70 from Shikhar Dhawan and 42 from his opening partner, Jonny Bairstow.
Liam Livingstone also made 28* for the Kings as debutant Mayank Yadav ripped through the batting order with his impressive quick bowling on the way to figures of 3-27 from his four overs.
Mohsin Khan provided good support for Yadav with 2-34 from his four overs.
Full Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 199-8 from 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 54, Krunal Pandya 43*, Nicholas Pooran 42, Sam Curran 3-28, Arshdeep Singh 2-30)
Punjab Kings 178-5 from 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 70, Jonny Bairstow 42, Liam Livingstone 28*, Mayank Yadav 3-27, Mohsin Khan 2-34)
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell all made half-centuries at the Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium as Bangalore set Lucknow a seemingly daunting target of 213, but Pooran's incredible 62 off 19 deliveries led the Super Giants to an improbable win.
Lucknow won the toss and put RCB in to bat first, before openers Kohli (61 from 44) and Du Plessis put up 96 for no loss until the former was dismissed with the third ball of the 11th over.
Maxwell came in for Kohli, and he (59 off 29) and Du Plessis (79 not out) went on to plunder 115 from just 50 balls before Mark Wood (1-32) took the Australian batsman's leg stump out of the ground with the penultimate ball of the innings, as Royal Challengers finished with a formidable 212-2.
The Super Giants' chase took a huge blow within three balls as in-form danger man Kyle Mayers was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj without a run on the board, and Wayne Parnell (3-41) took the wickets of both Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya in the fourth over to leave Lucknow's hopes seemingly hanging by a thread.
However, Marcus Stoinis gave them a chance with his 65 off 30 and Pooran made the fastest half-century in this season's IPL before he was finally caught by Shahbaz Ahmed off Siraj's (3-22) bowling.
Lucknow would go on to win in remarkable fashion, needing one off the final delivery of the innings when Harshal Patel missed the stumps while trying to mankad the non-striker.
Harshal would eventually bowl the last ball, and though his delivery beat Avesh Khan, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik fumbled as the Super Giants batsmen completed the run to secure an extraordinary victory.
Bangalore's big three all fire in defeat
The Royal Challengers' top three batsmen all played excellent knocks with Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell accounting for all but one of their team's runs, excluding extras.
It was only the fifth time in IPL history that each of a team's top three all made half-centuries and the first time Bangalore had achieved that feat. However, their efforts were still not enough to get their team over the line.
Pooran innings changes the game
The Super Giants' hopes looked slim after Stoinis and KL Rahul fell within three balls of each other, but Pooran's introduction swung the match back in their favour.
He went at a strike rate of 326.31, smashing four fours and seven maximums to set up his team-mates to go on and win the game.
Meanwhile, Jason Holder went to Rajasthan Royals and Odean Smith went to Gujarat Titans.
Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals all got involved in the bidding for Curran, forcing the price up, before Punjab won out.
Curran was outstanding in the T20 World Cup, taking 13 wickets – including 3-12 against Pakistan in the final last month.
There was a clamour for top-tier all-rounders, with Mumbai Indians landing Australia's Cameroon Green for 17.5 crore (£1.75million),
England Test captain Ben Stokes was wanted by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow, but it was Chennai who got him for 16.25 crore (£1.65million).
That fee for Stokes matched the previous record for an IPL player, set when Rajasthan signed Chris Morris ahead of the 2021 competition.
New Zealand white-ball skipper Kane Williamson had been the first player available in the auction and went for a bargain 2 crore (£200,000), before a bidding war broke out for England's Harry Brook.
Rajasthan were edged out as he went to Sunrisers for 13.25 crore (£1.325million), the highest price ever paid in an Indian Premier League auction for a specialist batter before Pooran went under the hammer.
LSG piled up an imposing 214-6 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Mumbai.
Captain KL Rahul scored a 41-ball 55 to cap off an indifferent season with the bat by his standards before Pooran, who has been one of LSG’s standout players this season, scored a brilliant 75 off just 29 balls including five fours and eight sixes.
Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni also had solid contributions of 28 and 22*, respectively.
Nuwan Thushara was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers with 3-28 from his four overs while Piyush Chawla ended with 3-29 from his full quota.
Despite 68 from skipper Rohit Sharma and 62* off just 28 balls from Naman Dhir, Mumbai fell short of their target reaching 196-6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Sharma’s knock at the top of the order lasted 38 balls and included 10 fours and three sixes while Dhir hit four fours and five sixes in his innings.
Ravi Bishnoi and Naveen-ul-Haq took 2-37 and 2-50 in their four over spells.
This win means LSG will end the season sixth with 14 points from as many games while Mumbai, five-time champions, will finish last having recorded only four wins in their 14 games for eight points.
Full scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 214-6 off 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, KL Rahul 55, Nuwan Thushara 3-28, Piyush Chawla 3-29)
Mumbai Indians 196-6 off 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 68, Naman Dhir 62*, Ravi Bishnoi 2-37, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-50)
After KKR won the toss and elected to field first, LSG, propelled by an aggressive 58 from Pooran, posted 176-8 off their 20 overs.
Pooran’s knock came off just 30 balls and included four fours and five sixes. He was well supported by Quinton De Kock (28) and Prerak Mankad (27).
Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur and Vaibhav Arora all took two wickets, each, for the Knight Riders.
Then, despite a fighting 67* from Rinku Singh and 45 from Jason Roy, KKR finished their reply 175-7 off 20 overs, falling agonizingly short of the win.
Ravi Bishnoi led the way with the ball for Lucknow with 2-13 from his four overs while Yash Thakur also took a pair of wickets.
Nicholas Pooran got his second fifty in as many games as the Lucknow Super Giants secured a dominant five-wicket win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) action at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Powell was released by the Delhi Capitals, while Joseph and Odean Smith were the players released by the Gujarat Titans. Holder and Obed McCoy were let go by the Rajasthan Royals, who have retained Shimron Hetmyer on their roster for the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders released Johnson Charles while retaining the services of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine for the coming season.
Akeal Hosein was released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Jofra Archer will also be looking for a new franchise after being let go by the Mumbai Indians who have also traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai Indians while the Lucknow Super Giants have retained Nicholas Pooran and Kyle Mayers.
Powell, one of the world’s most destructive T20 batsmen, most recently represented the Delhi Capitals last season and has also represented the Kolkata Knight Riders previously.
He made his debut in 2022 and has scored 257 runs in 17 matches at an average of 19.77 with a top score of 67*.
Joseph made his IPL debut in 2019 and has taken 20 wickets in 19 matches including a career best 6-12 for the Mumbai Indians. Last season, Joseph played for the Gujarat Titans who won the title.
Hosein has only made one IPL appearance, taking the field for the Sunrisers Hyderabad last season.
Brandon King, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Odean Smith and Shamar Joseph are the other West Indians entered into Tuesday’s auction.
King, Forde, Hope and Joseph are the only ones with no previous IPL experience.
The Proteas were due to travel to Sri Lanka in June for three ODIs and a trio of Twenty20 fixtures against their hosts, only to cancel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For the same reason they called off a planned trip to the Caribbean set for July and August, when they were due to play two Tests and five T20 matches.
While there was hope of facing West Indies in September instead, director of cricket Smith admits such a scenario is impossible for Cricket South Africa (CSA) due to the rearranged Indian Premier League season.
Several of the country's leading names are contracted to franchises for the T20 tournament, which seems set to be staged in the United Arab Emirates this year.
"The West Indies tour has been postponed indefinitely," Smith told the media on Saturday.
"We are struggling to find the time with the Indian Premier League, when our players are likely to be needed from the beginning of September. Sri Lanka also [postponed].
"I expect that once things get up and running, our team, on the men's side, I would say from November onwards, if all goes well, it will be a really busy period for South African cricket, probably playing in times that we haven't played before and trying to cram in a lot of the missed tours."
As for his own situation with CSA, Smith reaffirmed his commitment to the role amid recent questions raised over his appointment, as well as the coaching staff he put in place.
Mark Boucher was named as head coach ahead of the home series with England, while fellow former international team-mates Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris were introduced to work as batting and spin-bowling consultants respectively.
"If you look at some of the things which are being said around appointments, my appointment and the appointment of my staff, I think some of those things are extremely unfair," Smith said.
"It was good to see CSA president (Chris Nenzani) put that straight with his most recent comments. But I have to come back to my value system and why I got involved in this job.
"Cricket South Africa courted me for a while, I went through the same interview process as everybody else in getting the job.
"I got involved because I have got cricket at heart and to be part of the solution. I want to help create a strong Cricket South Africa."
Chasing 166 to win, captain KL Rahul (67 runs from 55 balls) took Punjab to the brink of a vital victory only to fall in the final over, leaving them needing four from as many balls.
Shahrukh Khan (22 from nine) then looked like he had been caught in the deep off the next delivery, only for Rahul Tripathi to drop the ball over the boundary for a six, ending the contest.
That thrilling finale came after a run chase that Punjab had long looked to have under control, with Mayank Agarwal (40 from 27) also making a key contribution.
KKR had earlier managed 165-7 after being put in to bat, with Venkatesh Iyer scoring 67 off 49 to give his side a chance.
Instead, Punjab's successful chase means they join KKR and Mumbai Indians on 10 points in a competitive battle to achieve a top-four place.
No Gayle, no problem for Kings
Chris Gayle leaving the IPL due to bubble fatigue was a blow for the Kings, but they were still able to get the win they desperately needed here.
Rahul, who had two maximums, anchored the innings and would have been disappointed not to have finished the chase himself. Still, he can reflect on a job well done while sitting as the competition's leading run scorer with 489, this being his fifth fifty in 11 matches.
KKR fail to build on Iyer platform
With Andre Russell out injured, it was Iyer who did the damage with the bat for KKR, his 72-run partnership with Tripathi for the second wicket setting an impressive platform.
However, KKR did not take full advantage and, having reached 120-2, they struggled. After Iyer's dismissal, Nitish Rana (31 off 18) was the only batter able to accelerate the rate.
