In the 2nd qualifier at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, Dhruv Jurel Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 36 runs against Rajasthan Royals and booked a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final scheduled for Sunday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 175-9, setting up a target of 176 runs while Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 139-7 to set up a repeat of the first qualifier loss against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad could score only in fits and starts but their total of two hundred and twenty one runs was still competitive at Chepauk as they eventually refused to let go before finally falling just short.
The initial strike came via Trent Boult who took three wickets off the first six balls he bowled; then Head got his man with an inside edge on bat while Tripathi held onto an easy catch from outside off stump. Heinrich Klaasen’s quickfire fifty couldn’t give them any momentum late on, meaning that there were no fireworks expected from SRH’s lower order as always.
Rajasthan Royals’ Yashasvi Jaiswal (42) led a spirited response but it wasn’t backed up by their top order; Dhruv Jurel was unlucky not getting more support as he made a fine half-century off just thirty five deliveries.
It was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s disciplined bowling which ultimately proved decisive in their win thanks largely to Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) along with all rounder Abhishek Sharma (2/24).
After losing this contest, Sanju Samson regretted that his batters did not know how to deal with spinners.
“It was obviously a big game. We showed good character in our bowling display during the opening innings just like we knew we had little options around the middle overs when they introduced spin into play,” he said.
“They are unpredictable in terms of dew. Suddenly in the second innings, I don’t know how it started behaving differently. It was a bit difficult to pick up for us.
“Now these guys came into the middle overs and bowled their spin against our right-handed batters which was good on their part,” they were simply ahead.
Samson however felt that his team’s batsmen should have tried something different to unsettle the opposition’s spinners.
“We could have maybe done reverse-sweeps or probably used the crease more when the ball stopped against their left-arm spinner. They also bowled well.”
Sanju Samson also praised Sandeep Sharma who did exceptionally well on a slow track during the middle overs: “I am really happy about him; He has come back as a replacement after not being picked in the auctions, so he has definitely delivered with his bowling.
“If you look at numbers and if you see Bumrah then after that two years Sandeep Sharma is there. He has been amazing.”
He also had some encouraging words for his young charges.
“We’ve had some great games not just this season but over the last three years, it’s been a great sort of project for our franchise; we have found really good talent for India.”
“Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and many others are looking extremely exciting both for RR and especially Indian cricket teams. We’ve had three very good seasons so far.”
