The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) join the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, which is set to take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The former was blown away by the latter during the first qualifier with a humongous margin of eight wickets.
Batting first, The SRH team could put up 159 in 19.3 overs, as Rahul Tripathi gave a long fight for his 55-run knock. Heinrich Klassen tried his best to push the 2016 champions to a good score but had to perish after his 32-run knock in 21 balls.
The Knight Riders made an easy chase of the total. Thanks to the unbeaten 97-run stand for the third wicket, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer carried them for the line, besides celebrating their respective half-centuries.
‘The pressure will be different’ – Suresh Raina on the KKR-SRH IPL 2024 final
That defeat pushed the SRH franchise in taking a long route to their third final of the IPL history. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, they found themselves getting involved during the second qualifier of the tournament against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
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The Hyderabad team posted 175/9 in their allotted 20-overs, as Klassen contributed with his 50-runs. Rahul Tripathi again stood up with the bat for his 37-run aggressive knock in 15 balls. With the pitch getting slow, timing the balls and chasing the target was always going to be a difficult task for the Royals.
SRH and their captain Pat Cummins used the bowlers quite beautifully. With no such dew being present during the course of the game, Cummins introduced his spinners, as Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed restricted the inaugural champions to 139/7, falling short by 36-runs.
Throughout the season, with their batting approach from the start of the innings, the SRH camp have already created fear among the opposite bowlers. The way Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have gone in their business against the new ball attack, is really refreshing in this modern generation of the 20-over format.
The former Chennai Super Kings and India batter, Suresh Raina has however supported the leadership skill of Pat Cummins, who has made a massive difference in the set-up since them finishing with the wooden spoon in the last season. The 31-year-old fast bowler has already led the Australia team to their sixth World Cup title, as Raina feels this will help him in handling the pressure of the situation.
‘Sunrisers should back their batting-first approach and put runs on the board, but the eight-overs of spin will be crucial. With KKR having won an IPL in Chennai, the pressure will be different,” Mr. IPL Suresh Raina expressed to Jio Cinema.
Cummins has done a fine job with the ball in hand, picking up 17 wickets so far in this IPL 2024, with an economy of 9.28, in 15 innings.
‘The key point for SRH is Pat Cummins who has already won the World Cup, he knows how to keep the dressing room running. You follow the process, you are switched on for the finals, the players know their roles, and everything will be organized,” The veteran who has won four IPL titles with CSK, remarked.
A win in this IPL 2024 final will take the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to their second IPL title, after a long wait for eight-years.