Chennai: Spinners dominated in Qualifier 2, leading Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a 36-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Chepauk on Friday, effectively ending Rajasthan’s run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. SRH skipper Pat Cummins’ strategic decision to rely on spinners against RR’s power hitters proved to be a masterstroke.
The free-scoring Sunrisers will now face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final, marking their first appearance in the championship match since 2018. KKR had earlier outplayed SRH in Qualifier 1.
Rajasthan, missing key players, aimed to chase down 176 against a formidable Sunrisers bowling lineup but fell short. Their aggressive start was evident when Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a six off the final ball of the first over. However, Cummins’ economical five-run second over began to stifle their scoring.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (10) attempted to accelerate but mistimed a shot off Cummins in the fourth over, resulting in a catch by Rahul Tripathi. Jaiswal tried to make up for it by scoring 19 runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over, ending the powerplay at 51/1.
Cummins then introduced the spinners, and the game quickly shifted in SRH’s favor. Impact substitute Shahbaz Ahmed dismissed Jaiswal (42) in his first over, followed by Abhishek Sharma taking out RR skipper Sanju Samson, reducing them to 70/3 in nine overs. Shahbaz struck again in the 12th over, taking two more wickets and solidifying Rajasthan’s collapse.
Riyan Parag’s innovative but unsuccessful attempt and subsequent wickets of Ravichandran Ashwin and Shimron Hetmyer to Abhishek Sharma left RR reeling. Despite Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten 56, the required run rate became insurmountable, and RR ultimately fell short by 36 runs.
Earlier, RR won the toss and chose to bowl. SRH’s Abhishek Sharma fell early, but Travis Head and Rahul Tripathi counter-attacked. Trent Boult’s double strike in the fifth over brought RR back into the game, but SRH managed to reach 68/3 by the end of the powerplay.
Heinrich Klaasen anchored SRH’s innings, scoring a crucial 50 off 34 balls with four sixes. Despite Avesh Khan’s double strike in the 14th over, Klaasen’s effort helped SRH post a defendable total of 175/9.
Brief Score:
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 175/9 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 50, Rahul Tripathi 37; Avesh Khan 3/27)
- Rajasthan Royals: 139/7 (Dhruv Jurel 56*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 42; Shahbaz Ahmed 3/23)
Sunrisers Hyderabad will now prepare to face Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL final on Sunday.
