As the group matches reach the final stage, with a number of teams jostling for places in the knockouts, a look back at how the Australians have gone over the last week

Cummins doubles his tally

It had been a lean tournament with the ball for Pat Cummins before he faced Delhi Capitals - three wickets in 10 outings. He had played a part at times with his economy (and with some handy innings) but as a strike bowler wickets need to be part of a big-money deal. Things clicked for him straightaway when he pinned Ajinkya Rahane lbw first ball and then he produced a terrific delivery, at 147kph, to remove the in-form Shikhar Dhawan. By the time he returned to add Kagiso Rabada as his third the game was long-since over, but it capped an outstanding night with the ball for Cummins which also included 16 dot deliveries. Now Kolkata Knight Riders will hope it heralds an end-of-tournament surge.

David Warner, Jofra Archer...you know the rest

This one can probably be left to the ball-by-ball commentary:

0.4 and he has got him again. Never mind the format, the team, the colour of the ball, the colour of the jersey. Archer gets Warner all the time. And great captaincy to have that second slip in. This length ball seams away from him, takes a healthy edge, and Stokes dives to his left, full length, to take it. Archer to Warner in all formats this year: 7 innings, 45 balls, 32 runs, 6 dismissals.

It's worth adding that Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to secure victory, despite the best efforts of Archer, but in their next match, after Warner had struck 35 off 20 balls, they made a horrid mess of a chase against Kings XI Punjab. It looks unlikely that Warner will see the playoffs.

Why does David Warner have a hard time against Jofra Archer? #TalkingPoints

A look into the factors https://t.co/WBfqSWFdp1 #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/tHsFp5g0xY

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 23, 2020

Start stop for Finch

Australia's limited-overs captain has got himself in most times during the tournament but he hasn't kicked on with just one half-century in 11 innings. This last week summed things up for Aaron Finch when he fell for 16 against KKR, edging behind against the rapid Lockie Ferguson, and then making a brisk start against Chennai Super Kings only to fall to a Sam Curran bouncer. With the limited preparation he'll have before facing India late next month Finch would like to finish the tournament with a few decent contributions.

Fifty-less week

There wasn't a single half-century from an Australia batsman over the last week of the tournament. Alongside Warner and Finch, Steven Smith made scores of 26 not out, 19 and 11 - in the last of those innings falling to Australia team-mate James Pattinson - while Marcus Stoinis made two single-figure contributions and Glenn Maxwell's lean IPL continued although he did manage 32 off 24 as Kings XI chased down a target against the Capitals. Given the power Maxwell so often brings to sides he plays for, it is a fairly extraordinary statistic that he has yet to hit a six in this year's competition.

Glenn Maxwell's strike rate at #IPL2020 is just 102.00. He has faced 100 balls this season without scoring a six.

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 26, 2020

End of the road for Watto?

Despite being the team's second-highest run-scorer this campaign, Shane Watson has been left out of CSK's side for their last two matches as any slim chance they had of making the knockouts evaporated. MS Dhoni has said that the end of this edition will be about looking to the future, so could this be the end of one of the great IPL careers? If he doesn't play again, his numbers will stand as: 3860 runs at 31.12 a strike-rate of 138.35 alongside 92 wickets at 29.15.