SRH vs RR: The Indian Premier League final is all set as the SunRisers Hyderabad secured a brilliant 36-run win against Rajasthan Royals in qualifier 2 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium on May 24.
Pure 🔥 from Shahbaz 🥵#PlayWithFire #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/VaHYNKM0ho
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 24, 2024
Pat Cummins’ men booked a final date with the Kolkata Knight Riders where the two teams will battle it out for T20 supremacy.
RR Bowlers Restrict SRH To 175/9
Opting to bat first, SunRisers Hyderabad aimed for a strong start in their innings. Openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma tried to provide a solid foundation, but Trent Boult struck early. Despite being hit for a six and a boundary initially, Boult dismissed Abhishek Sharma in the first over.
This marked another instance of Boult taking a wicket in the opening over of an IPL match, bringing his tally to 29 wickets in the first over.
Travis Head began steadily but was dismissed for 34 runs by a Sandeep Sharma delivery. Boult also claimed the wicket of Rahul Tripathi, whose quickfire 37 off 15 balls kept SRH in contention for a competitive total in their 20 overs.
Avesh Khan contributed significantly to Rajasthan Royals’ bowling efforts, taking the wickets of Nitish Reddy and Abdul Samad in consecutive deliveries during the 14th over, leaving SRH struggling at 120/6 by the end of the over.
Ultimately, Heinrich Klaasen’s explosive fifty and Shahbaz Ahmed’s 18-run cameo helped SRH reach a respectable total of 175/9. Both Trent Boult and Avesh Khan finished their spells with three wickets each, as bowlers dominated the first innings.
SRH Bowlers Decimate RR Batting Lineup
In reply, it was a brilliant start by the RR openers as Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a fiery 21-ball 42 to keep the target in sight. However, his opening partner Kohler-Cadmore failed to make an impact and got dismissed at 10 runs within the powerplay.
Jaiswal’s dismissal in the 8th over was followed by a middle-order meltdown as wickets in quick intervals saw SRH pile on the pressure. Skipper Sanju Samson Ravichandran Ashwin and Riyan Parag saw themselves losing their wicket at a collective total of just 16 runs with Ashwin getting out on a duck.
Spinners did the trick for the SunRisers on the night as Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma took 3 and 2 wickets respectively to decimate the RR batting order.
It was Dhruv Jurel (56*) and Rovman Powell who were the last batting duo available in the chase. However, their 32-run partnership wasn’t enough to take Rajasthan over the line as they were restricted to 139/7 in their 20 overs, eventually handing the SunRisers a final berth in the IPL.
Also Read: IPL Qualifier 2: SunRisers Hyderabad Set 176-Run Target For Rajasthan
