The spinners reigned supreme in Qualifier 2, orchestrating the Rajasthan Royals’ exit from the Indian Premier League by helping Sunrisers Hyderabad secure a 36-run win at the Chepauk on Friday.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins’ gamble to use spinners as their frontline attack against RR’s power hitters worked like a charm. The free-scoring Sunrisers will now return to the final against Kolkata Knight Riders for the first time since 2018. Earlier this week, the Riders outplayed Hyderabad in Qualifier 1.
Missing a couple of key players, the Royals stepped up to chase down 176 against a resilient Sunrisers bowling setup. Rajasthan began their quest for a spot in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday with urgency. Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed the ball into the stands on the final ball of the first over, signaling Rajasthan’s intent.
Cummins followed up with an economical 5-run over, making boundaries scarce. Struggling, Tom Kohler-Cadmore took a gamble but mistimed his shot, allowing Rahul Tripathi to take the catch. Jaiswal tried to salvage the powerplay with a boundary-scoring spree in the final over, but Cummins’ decision to introduce spinners post-powerplay shifted the game.
Impact substitute Shahbaz Ahmed claimed Jaiswal (42) in his first over, and Abhishek Sharma soon dismissed Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson, reducing RR to 70/3 in 9 overs. Shahbaz struck again in the 12th over, taking two wickets and marking the beginning of Rajasthan’s downfall. Riyan Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin fell soon after, failing to withstand the spin attack.
Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel tried to pull RR back into the game, but the spinners didn’t relent. Hetmyer fell to Abhishek, and Jurel’s lone battle was insufficient as the asking rate spiraled out of control. RR fell short of the chase by 36 runs.
Earlier, RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl. Despite losing Abhishek early, Travis Head and Rahul Tripathi launched a counter-attack. Trent Boult turned the tide, picking up two wickets in the fifth over. SRH posted 68/3 by the end of the powerplay and brought up their 100 in 10.2 overs with Heinrich Klaasen leading the scoring.
RR fought back in the 14th over with Avesh Khan taking two wickets, including Abdul Samad on the first ball he faced. Heinrich Klaasen completed his fifty before being castled by Sandeep Sharma in the 19th over, helping SRH post a defendable total of 175/9.
