IPL 2024, Qualifier 2: Spinners Bamboozle RR, SRH to Meet KKR in Final

Shahbaz Ahmed claimed a three-wicket haul while Abhishek Sharma nabbed 2 wickets to propel SRH to a dominating win.

IPL 2024, Qualifier 2, SRH vs RR: The Pat Cummins-led SRH team will now face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final on Sunday, 26 May at the same venue.

Image: BCCI

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 36 runs in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, 24 May.

Chasing a target of 176 runs, the Sanju Samson led side could only muster 139/7 at the end of 20 overs.

The Pat Cummins' men will now face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final on Sunday, 26 May at the same venue.

In his spell of 4 overs, Shahbaz Ahmed returned with 3 wickets.

Image: BCCI

SRH Bowlers On Fire

RR's chase started well, but captain Pat Cummins made an early breakthrough by dismissing Kohler-Cadmore for just 10 runs in the 4th over. Following this, Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson built a 41-run partnership off 23 balls before Jaiswal was dismissed by Shahbaz Ahmed in the 8th over, having scored 42 runs off 21 balls.

Cummins then brought Abhishek Sharma into the attack, and three balls later, Sharma claimed the wicket of Sanju Samson, who had scored 10 runs off 11 balls.

Abhishek Sharma claimed Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmeyer's wicket.

Image: BCCI

Shahbaz Ahmed returned to inflict further damage on RR, taking two quick wickets in the 12th over by dismissing Riyan Parag and R Ashwin.

In the 14th over, Abhishek Sharma struck again, claiming RR's sixth wicket as he bowled out Shimron Hetmeyer out for just 4 runs. At the end of 14 overs, RR stood at 93/6.

Batters Crumbled Like a Pack of Cards

Rovman Powell and Dhruv Jurel initiated the rebuilding phase, forming a 32-run partnership off 24 balls before T Natarajan dismissed Powell in the 18th over. Meanwhile, Jurel reached his fifty off 26 balls during the penultimate over of the game.

Facing a daunting requirement of 42 runs off the last over, the RR batters managed only 5, ultimately falling 36 runs short of the target.

What Happened in the 1st Innings?

In the first innings, Trent Boult did the early damage by picking three wickets in Power-play, while Avesh Khan took a three-fer in the backend of the innings as RR restricted a power-packed SRH to 175/9.

On a fresh pitch, Avesh (3-27) and Boult (3-45) were spot-on with their execution to ensure SRH didn’t run way to amass a big total. RR’s seamers excelled by bowling cutters into the pitch, conceding only 25 runs in the last three overs, even as their spinners went wicketless in their combined eight overs.

For SRH, Rahul Tripathi’s 37 and Heinrich Klaasen’s fighting fifty took them to a decent total after being inserted into batting first by RR. Abhishek Sharma got going by pulling and driving Boult for exquisite boundaries before the pacer had the last laugh as the batter miscued a short ball to backward point.

Tripathi's Quickfire Kock

Tripathi was quick off the blocks by hitting seven boundaries, four of which came against Ravichandran Ashwin. But Tripathi fell for 15-ball 37 when his attempt to ramp a rising slower short ball from Boult was caught by short third man.

In the same over, Boult struck again as Aiden Markram threw his hands at a wide ball and the edge flew to the short third man’s hands. Travis Head overcame a slow start by hitting four boundaries collectively off Avesh and Sandeep Sharma but was caught at short third man in an attempt to ramp a slower bouncer off the latter.

Klaasen's Rescue Act 

Klaasen tried to keep SRH innings afloat with his gigantic sixes off Chahal but didn’t get support from the other end. Nitish Kumar Reddy reverse-swept to short third man off Avesh, who also rattled Abdul Samad’s off-stump.

Klaasen continued his rearguard act by smacking Boult for a six down the ground, before reaching his fifty in 33 balls. But Klaasen missed the very next ball he faced, as a yorker from Sandeep uprooted his leg-stump. Avesh’s impressive time in the match concluded with him having Shahbaz Ahmed heaving to long-on and inflicting the run-out of Jaydev Unadkat on the last ball of the innings.

With inputs from IANS.