Rajasthan Royals’ talented young suitors failed miserably in a ‘Slow Track Test’ while Sunrisers Hyderabad’s unexpected spin twins Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed spun a web to secure a 36-run Qualifier 2 victory and a summit date of the IPL with Kolkata Knight Pilots in Chennai on Friday. The title match will be held in Chennai on Sunday. Chasing the target of 176, the Royals were restricted to 139 for 7, ensuring a third IPL final for SRH after 2016 and 2018.
On a slow track that offered significant turns and grip as the night progressed and with no dew to aid the batsmen, Abhishek (2/24 in 4 overs) and Shahbaz (23/3 in 4 overs) forced the Yashasvi Jaiswals, Sanju Samsons and Riyan Parags pressing the unwanted ‘Harakiri button’ in 15 minutes of pure brainpower that ended their hopes of a third final.
Their combined figures of 5 for 47 in 8 overs completely overshadowed the celebrated duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (0/43 in 4 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/34 in 4 overs), who gave away 77 runs in their quota of overs.
This difference also became the difference between the two sides.
From a comfortable 65 for 1 in 7.4 overs, it suddenly went to 79 for 5 at the end of the 12th over.
Abhishek, who had bowled just three overs in 15 games before tonight, suddenly made the ball dive and turn as Shahbaz’s deliveries caught and one of them hit the back of Samson, who waited an eternity to touch the cow corner.
Jaiswal and Parag were also unable to simply go the distance as the ball came to rest on them.
The humidity was around 80% and therefore the absence of dew only made the situation worse.
Dhruv Jurel (56 not out off 35 balls) tried his luck but saved Jaiswal (42 off 21 balls), everyone else was flattered to deceive.
It is worth mentioning that the highly rated Samsão once again failed to score on the days when it mattered. Samson’s big-day failures were his biggest undoing and the Royals expected a much better effort from their captain.
It was imperative after Sandeep Sharma, the master operator on sticky surfaces, put his skill set to optimum use while restricting Hyderabad to a decent but manageable 175 for 9.
The Royals bowling could be segregated into three distinct parts, despite Heinrich Klaasen’s half-century (50, 34b) which had four maximums.
Trent Boult (3/45) began to slide in the Powerplays, Sandeep stifled the ‘Orange Army’ batsmen midway through the overs, while Avesh Khan 2.0 was as threatening at the death (3/27) as he has been all tournament.
But it was the wily Sandeep (2/25 in 4 overs), who sped up his deliveries, as the Sunrisers’ batsmen were literally ‘Third-Manned Short’, with four batsmen failing to clear the fielder stationed on the edge of the 30-yard circle .
Chahal occupying the slot took three catches while Ashwin also took one in the same position.
The problem that the SRH batsmen, including in-form Travis Head (34 off 28 balls), faced was the lack of pace on the surface which became a hindrance when using it for traditional T20 ramps.
Abhishek (12) initially became indiscreet when he hit one shot too many on Boult and was drawn.
The strategy of using Ashwin (0/43 in 4 overs) with the new ball because of his familiarity with Chepauk did not work as Rahul Tripathi (37 in 15 balls) hit the senior off-spinner out of the attack.
Just when it looked like he was taking control on a day when Head wasn’t timing it correctly, his poor shot selection when trying to pick out Boult in the short third was his undoing.
Aiden Markram’s re-entry into the playing XI did not pay dividends as he was attacking the short third man. However, with Klaasen for company, SRH were clawing back 99 for 3 when Head paid for his debauchery with Sandeep rolling his fingers.
Klaasen understood that the ball was not coming to the bat and only went for the jugular for deliveries that were in his arc, as he achieved one of his best half-centuries in difficult conditions, before a slower delivery into the block hole rattled the furniture.
With Klaasen’s departure, the chances of reaching 200 also went out of the window.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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