Sunrisers Hyderabad showcased a solid all-around performance, securing a convincing 36-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 in Chennai on Friday, advancing to the IPL 2024 final.
Heinrich Klaasen’s brisk 50 off 34 balls, along with contributions from Travis Head (34) and Rahul Tripathi (37), propelled Sunrisers to a competitive total of 175 for 9. Led by Shahbaz Ahmed’s impressive 3/23, the bowlers restricted Royals to 139 for 7, setting up a final clash with Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.
Despite consistent wicket losses, Royals struggled to find momentum in their chase of 176.
A young girl fan, sporting an RR jersey, was captured in tears in the stands, a poignant moment that quickly spread across social media.
Rajasthan Royals’ die hard Fan crying at Chepuak. pic.twitter.com/YsIzcsJJXP
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) May 24, 2024
https://twitter.com/MufaKohli/status/1794062283720605860
In response, RR managed only 139 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (42) and Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten 56 doing the bulk of the scoring.
Earlier, pace duo Trent Boult (3/45) and Avesh Khan (3/27) clinched three wickets apiece, while Sandeep Sharma (2/25) bagged two wickets after RR chose to bowl first.
For SRH, Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) shared five wickets, while Pat Cummins (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/13) also chipped in with a wicket each.
