SunRisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in Qualifer 2 game of IPL 2024 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday. SRH thus set up a final clash with Kolkata Knight Riders at the same venue. The summit clash will take place on May 26. Talking about the game on Friday, pace duo of Trent Boult and Avesh Khan picked three wickets each but SRH still managed to post a competitive 175 for 9 in 20 overs. Apart from Boult (3/45) and Avesh Khan (3/27), Sandeep Sharma (2/25) also found registered his name among wicket-takers after RR won the toss and opted to bowl.
For SRH, Heinrich Klaasen was the top-scorer with a 34-ball 50, while Travis Head (34), Rahul Tripathi (37) got starts but couldn’t stay longer. In reply, RR were restricted to 139 for 7 in 20 overs, thanks to Shahbaz Ahmed’s 3 for 23.
SRH owner Kavya Maran was ecstatic as the side made it to IPL final after 6 years. She was spotted sharing a warm hug with father Kalanithi Maran as soon as SRH registered a victory over RR in the Qualifier 2 game.
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Celebrations in the @SunRisers camp#TATAIPLPlayoffs #IPLonJioCinema #SRHvRR #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/GAJpI7nngY
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 24, 2024
Shahbaz Ahmed, who bagged the Player of the Match award said: “The captain and coach told me depending on the situation we will use you, my role was to bat lower down the order and they said if we collapse we will send you.”
It is worth noting that Shahbaz was brought in as an Impact Player in the game after SRH went six down in the game.
“When I was batting, I felt that this wicket has something and the way Avesh (Khan) and Sandeep (Sharma) bowled showed. I’m feeling proud at having got the Man of the Match in such a game, the atmosphere is quite relaxed in the camp. We will celebrate only after winning the final, tonight we will just relax,” he added.