Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 36 runs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday.
Following their commanding win over Rajasthan, Sunrisers cemented their place in the IPL 2024 final where they will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday (May 26) at the same venue.
SRH’s bowling consisting of Shahbaz Ahmed, who came as an impact player, and Abhishek Sharma dismantled Rajasthan’s batting as both bowlers took five wickets combined for 47 runs in eight overs.
No batters other than Yashasvi Jaiswal (42 off 21) and Dhruv Jurel (56 off 35) could score valuable runs. Rajasthan were on the right track in their chase of the 176-run target but Shahbaz’s spell turned the game in Surisers’ favour.
Shahbaz ended his four-over spell after giving just 23 runs for three wickets and was SRH’s best weapon with the ball. Meanwhile, Sharma, Pat Cummins and T. Natarajan bagged one wicket each.
Meanwhile batting first, SRH were handed an early blow when in-form Abhishek Sharma was removed by Trent Boult in the first over. Following Sharma’s dismissal, Travis Head and Rahul Tripathi took control of the innings and saved them from an early collapse.
Tripathi played one of the best and most crucial knocks of the tournament by scoring 37 runs on just 15 balls courtesy of five fours and two sixes.
Down the order, Heinrich Klaasen posted a half-century on 34 balls which included four sixes. SRH concluded their innings at 175/9 in the allocated overs.
Boult and Avesh Khan picked three wickets each while Sandeep Sharma got two.
Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal