Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals to reach IPL 2024 final

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) triumphed over 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.

This decisive win ensures Sunrisers' 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 attack, featuring Shahbaz Ahmed, who was brought in as an impact player, and Abhishek Sharma, dominated Rajasthan’s batting lineup. The duo claimed five wickets combined, conceding just 47 runs in eight overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (42 off 21) and Dhruv Jurel (56 off 35) were the only RR batters to make significant contributions. Despite a promising start in their chase of the 176-run target, Shahbaz’s exceptional spell turned the game in Sunrisers' favor.

Shahbaz delivered an outstanding four-over spell, taking three wickets for just 23 runs, making him SRH's standout bowler. Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins, and T. Natarajan each took one wicket.

Batting first, SRH faced an early setback when in-form Abhishek Sharma was dismissed by Trent Boult in the first over. However, Travis Head and Rahul Tripathi stabilized the innings and prevented an early collapse.

Tripathi played a crucial and aggressive innings, scoring 37 runs off just 15 balls, including five fours and two sixes. Lower down the order, Heinrich Klaasen posted a half-century off 34 balls, featuring four sixes, helping SRH to a total of 175/9 in their allotted overs.

For RR, Trent Boult and Avesh Khan took three wickets each, while Sandeep Sharma claimed two.