IPL-17 Qualifier 2: Shahbaz, Abhishek do the star turn for Sunrisers

A splendid bowling effort, masterminded by left-arm spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday and march into its third Indian Premier League final.

Needing 176 to win, RR seemed on course at 65 for one, only for Shahbaz (4-0-23-3) and Abhishek (4-0-24-2), who had collectively taken just three wickets all season, to bamboozle the batters. Late-evening dew, which has hampered many a bowling side, made no appearance as SRH restricted RR to 139 for seven to set up a date with Kolkata Knight Riders for the ultimate prize on Sunday.

RR began slowly, reaching 32 for one after five overs. But in the sixth, Yashasvi Jaiswal (42, 21b, 4×4, 3×6) made the play, flat-batting Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a majestic six down the ground before following it up with three boundaries.

Spinners take over

However, the introduction of Shahbaz and Abhishek pegged RR back. Jaiswal welcomed Shahbaz with a reverse-swept six, but soon miscued one to long-off. Skipper Sanju Samson’s slap off Abhishek went straight to Aiden Markram at long-on.

Shahbaz went on to struck twice in the 12th over as Riyan Parag mistimed to deep mid-wicket and R. Ashwin was caught behind.

When Abhishek rattled Shimron Hetmyer’s stumps in the 14th over (92 for six), the 2008 champion’s challenge was all but over. Dhruv Jurel (56 n.o., 35b, 7×4, 2×6) and Rovman Powell kept the flame flickering with a 32-run association. But Abhishek shut down the contest with a fine running catch from deep midwicket to send Powell back.

Earlier, after being asked to bat, SRH scored 68 in the PowerPlay, courtesy some belligerent hitting by Rahul Tripathi (37, 15b, 5×4, 2×6). If not for the wicket-taking nous of Trent Boult (three for 45), SRH could have had more.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma plays a shot in the match against Rajasthan Royals.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Abhishek hit Boult for a six in front of square three balls into the innings and creamed the next ball down the ground for four. But Boult had his man, with the ball hitting high on the bat and lobbing to cover.

For the next three overs, it was all Tripathi. The 33-year-old was brutal on Ashwin, sweeping, lofting and late-cutting the offie for fours. Boult was dispatched beautifully through cover and point, and then clipped over fine-leg for a tremendous six. But the left-arm quick outwitted Tripathi too, having him caught at short-third with a slow bouncer.

After the PowerPlay, the runs dried up. The biggest barren patch — a 29-ball boundary drought from overs 7.5 to 12.3 — sent the crowd into a deep slumber despite the best efforts of the stadium jockey.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Heinrich Klaasen bats during the Qualifier 2 match against Rajasthan Royals in Chennai on May 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
M. Vedhan

But Heinrich Klaasen’s was an assured presence. The burly 32-year-old muscled the ball four times into the stands (50, 34b, 4×6), thrice off Chahal and once off Boult.

Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan were excellent for RR, conceding just 52 runs from eight overs and claiming five wickets. Sandeep even accounted for the uncharacteristically sedate Travis Head (34, 28b, 3×4, 1×6) with a slow bouncer and rearranged the dangerous Klaasen’s stumps with a slow yorker. For a while the bowling effort appeared match-winning, but it was not to be.

Scoreboard

Sunrisers Hyderabad