Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) stormed through to the final of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final with a 36-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Qualifier 2 at Chennai. Batting first, SRH got to 175 – a score that was defended well by their bowlers – who put in a performance to remember.
On being invited to bat by RR, SRH continued to show their aggressive intent in the first 10 overs – as they have through the TATA IPL 2024. Even though they lost a few wickets in the powerplay, the intent continued. For RR, it was Trent Boult who did the early damage. While Abhishek Sharma started off with a six over mid-wicket and followed it up with a four, Boult struck back in the very first over when he induced a false shot from the left-hander – which was snapped on the off-side.
Travis Head took his time to get his eye in as Rahul Tripathi attacked at the other end. Tripathi was combative, and irrespective of the bowler, he played his shots. When R Ashwin came on for the second over, Tripathi started off with a four through third-man – albeit a little edgy. Boult, too, was picked for a boundary in the next over. When Ashwin returned for the fourth over, Tripathi continued the charge with two fours and a six. Boult returned to be hit for a six and four. However, in an attempt to get another boundary, he guided a slower ball from Boult to short third-man. With 37 off 15, Tripathi had given the SRH innings good momentum.
Boult wasn’t done there as he sent Aiden Markram back a few balls later, who edged it to Yuzvendra Chahal at short third-man. After five overs, SRH were 57 for three. Head and Heinrich Klaasen went about rebuilding the innings. Head, who was quiet initially, got his first boundary in the sixth over off Sandeep Sharma. Klaasen got into stride when he picked Chahal over mid-wicket for a six in the eight over. A couple of quiet overs then induced a false shot from Head, who guided Sandeep to third-man.
The last 10 overs saw Klaasen guide SRH. RR’s bowlers continued to strike in those overs to limit SRH’s charge. Avesh Khan struck twice in the 14th over as Nitish Reddy reverse-swept a catch to third-man. It was Chahal’s third catch in the match. Abdul Samad was then bowled first ball.
Klaasen rallied the SRH charge thereafter and lifted them from 120 for six to a score that gave their bowlers a cushion. In the 18th over, he got his fifty off 33 balls. Meanwhile, Shahbaz Ahmed was brought in as an Impact Player and contributed with 18 runs. SRH moved to 175 for nine. For RR, Sandeep (two for 25) and Avesh (three for 27) were the pick of the bowlers. Boult, too, picked up three.
When RR started their run-chase, Yashaswi Jaiswal looked in great touch. In the very first over, he picked Bhuvneshwar for a six over mid-wicket. The first few overs were testing, and SRH got their first breakthrough when Pat Cummins dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore. It was only in the sixth over that Jaiswal truly unleashed his best, picking three fours and a six off Bhuveshwar. In the powerplay, RR finished at 51 for one and looked in good space with Yashaswi set.
In the middle overs, SRH’s spinners came into their own and turned the game, quite literally, in their team’s favour. Shahbad broke the shackles when he had Yashasvi (42 off 21 balls) caught in the deep in the eight over. Abhishek came on to bowl and soon after, Samson lofted one to deep mid-wicket and was caught by Markram.
SRH’s spinners kept that pressure and Shahbaz tightened their grip on the match with a double-wicket strike in the 12th over. Riyan Parag was caught at mid-wicket and Ashwin got an edge through to the wicketkeeper. At 80 for five in 12 overs, SRH were in firm control.
RR never seemed to bounce back from that. Shimron Hetmyer was brought in as an Impact Player but wasn’t given any room to express himself. Rovman Powell, too, was kept quiet by the SRH bowlers. The only RR batter who kept fighting through to the end was Dhruv Jurel. In the face of severe pressure and wickets falling at the other end, he gave a good account of his temperament, getting to his fifty off 26 balls in the penultimate over. By then, SRH were well on course as the game petered towards its eventual result.
Shahbaz and Abhishek, the two left arm spinners, made the difference with five wickets between them as they conceded only 47 in their eight overs. This ensured SRH setup a rematch of Qualifier 1 – and will meet Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the title clash on Sunday in Chennai.
