Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has charged into the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final with a convincing 36-run triumph over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 held at Chennai. SRH’s bowlers delivered a remarkable performance, successfully defending a total of 175 runs to book their place in the grand finale.
Opting to bat first after being invited by RR, SRH maintained their aggressive approach throughout the initial 10 overs, a strategy they’ve employed consistently during the TATA IPL 2024. Despite early setbacks and losing a few wickets in the powerplay, SRH’s intent to dominate remained unshaken. Trent Boult was the destroyer-in-chief for RR, claiming early breakthroughs. Abhishek Sharma began SRH’s innings with a six over mid-wicket followed by a four, but Boult soon retaliated by inducing a false shot from Sharma in the very first over, which was caught on the off-side.
Travis Head, taking his time to settle, partnered with Rahul Tripathi, who was aggressive from the start. Tripathi attacked all bowlers with vigor. In Ashwin’s second over, Tripathi opened his account with a four through third man. Boult too was sent to the boundary in the following over. When Ashwin returned for his fourth over, Tripathi continued his onslaught with a series of boundaries, including two fours and a six. Boult also faced the wrath of Tripathi with a six and a four, but the bowler had his revenge when Tripathi, trying for another boundary, was dismissed for a well-played 37 off 15 balls.
Boult, maintaining his lethal form, dismissed Aiden Markram shortly thereafter with an edge to Yuzvendra Chahal at short third-man. By the end of the powerplay, SRH was at 57 for three. Head and Heinrich Klaasen then focused on rebuilding the innings. Head, initially quiet, hit his first boundary in the sixth over off Sandeep Sharma. Klaasen, gaining momentum, hit Chahal for a six over mid-wicket in the eighth over.
A couple of quiet overs followed, creating an opportunity for Sandeep Sharma to dismiss Head, who edged the ball to the third-man.
. The final 10 overs saw Klaasen guide SRH with some responsible batting. Although the RR bowlers kept striking to contain SRH’s progress, Klaasen’s composed innings helped SRH recover from 120 for six to a defendable total. Klaasen reached his fifty off 33 balls in the 18th over, proving instrumental to SRH’s competitive score of 175 for nine. Notably, Shahbaz Ahmed, brought in as an Impact Player, contributed a valuable 18 runs. Sandeep Sharma (two for 25) and Avesh Khan (three for 27) were the pick of RR’s bowlers, with Boult also claiming three wickets.
RR’s chase began promisingly with Yashaswi Jaiswal in superb form, hitting Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six over mid-wicket in the first over. The initial overs were challenging, and SRH secured their first breakthrough when Pat Cummins dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Jaiswal then showcased his best in the sixth over, hitting three fours and a six off Bhuvneshwar to end the powerplay with RR at 51 for one.
The middle overs, however, belonged to SRH’s spinners, who dramatically swung the match in their favor. Shahbaz Ahmed provided the crucial wicket of Jaiswal, who was caught in the deep for a well-made 42 off 21 balls in the eighth over. Abhishek Sharma soon claimed the vital wicket of Sanju Samson, caught by Markram at deep mid-wicket.
The spinners kept applying pressure and Shahbaz further tightened SRH’s grip on the match with a double-wicket strike in the 12th over, removing Riyan Parag and Ashwin in quick succession. With RR reeling at 80 for five, SRH was in firm control.
Despite RR’s attempts to fight back, they never recovered from the early and middle-over setbacks. Impact Player Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell struggled to find their footing against tight SRH bowling. Dhruv Jurel stood out for RR, showing determination and reaching his fifty off just 26 balls in the penultimate over, but it was too late to alter the game’s course.
SRH’s spin duo, Shahbaz and Abhishek, were the stars, sharing five wickets for just 47 runs in their combined eight overs. Their efforts ensured SRH’s progression to the final, where they will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a highly anticipated title clash on Sunday in Chennai.