Picture : IPL / X
Sunrisers Hyderabad stormed into the final of the Tata IPL 2024 as they beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in the Qualifier 2 on ahot and humid conditions in Chennai. SRH will now take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the final . KKR had beaten SRH in the first Qualifier.
Earlier. RR Skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted bowl first. The best bowler in power plays Kiwi Trent Boult delivered yet again with an early strike getting Abhishek Sharma for 12 . Travis Head desperate to be back among runs after two successive failures scored 34 ( 28 balls, 3 fours, 1 six). Head was livid with his dismissal and the shot he played .
Rahul Tripathi once again played freely and scored quick 37 ) 17 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) , like Head too Tripathi was furious with his shot that cut short his promising innings . Back in the side Aiden Markram failed to justify his return out for 1. Nitish Reddy ( 5), Abdul Samad ( 0) were dismissed quickly with the total at 120-6, 14 overs. SRH were in danger of being bowled out.
Fortunately in the big game Heinrich Klaasen came good with a timely 50 ( 34 balls , 4 sixes) , Shahbaz Ahmed ( 18) , Skipper Pat Cummins not out 5 . Jaydev Unadkat run-out 5 . SRH finishing at fighting 175/ 9 in their 20 overs .
RR Bowling : Trent Boult was outstanding 3/ 45 ( 4 overs), Avesh Khan 3/ 27 ( 4 overs) , Ravichandran Ashwin 0/ 43 ( 4 overs) , Sandeep Sharma 2/ 25 ( 4 overs) , Yuzvendra Chahal 0/ 34 ( 4 overs)
Chasing 176 , Royals were finding runs hard to come by . Opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore struggled for his 10 before he was dismissed by Pat Cummins, SRH skipper striking early . Yashasvi Jaiswal showed the aggressive intent but when he was needed to stay he fell for 42 ( 21 balls , 4 fours, 3 sixes) .
Skipper Sanju Samson , who played so well so far fell in the big game for ( 10). In- from Riyan Parag out for ( 6). Suddenly RR chase were in tatters . RR 79-4, in 11.1 overs . Ravichandran Ashwin ( 0) and Shimron Hetmyer ( 1) were out in quick succession as Royals lost wickets regularly . SRH Spinners – Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma wrecked the RR batting. Rovman Powell was out for 6 as RR headed towards a big defeat . The Total reading a dismal 124-7, in 17.4 overs .
SRH needed wickets from the start and the bowlers stood up on the big day
Dhruv Jurel was the lone fighter remaining not out on valiant 56 ( 35 balls, 7 fours , 2 sixes). Trent Boult not out 0. RR finishing at 139/ 7 in their 20 overs. SRH storming into the final clash with KKR by comfortable 36 runs .
The delight in SRH Skippet Pat Cummins and his players were evident. SRH CEO Kavya Maran was ecstatic too and why would not she be.
After WTC Championship 2023 , ICC 50 Over 2023 World Cup , Pat Cummins is having a dream run as Captain and now he has chance to add IPL 2024 in his kitty.
SRH Bowling : Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0/ 33 ( 3 overs) , Pat Cummins 1/ 30 ( 4 overs) , T Natarajan 1/ 13 ( 3 overs) was brilliant. Jaydev Unadkat 0/ 5 ( 1 over) , Game changer Shahbaz Ahmed 3/ 27 ( 4 overs0, Abhishek Sharma 2/ 24 ( 4 overs) , Aiden Markram 0/ 10 ( 1 over)
Match: IPL 2024, Qualifier 2
Venue: Chennai | Date: May 24, 2024
