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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will lock horns in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, May 24. The winner of the knockout fixture will join Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the all-important final.
Hyderabad suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Kolkta in the Qualifier 1. Electing to bat first, SRH were bundled out for 159. Rahul Tripathi was the top scorer with a handy 55-run knock.
They went down without a fight as KKR chased down the target comfortably in just 13.4 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (58*) and Venkatesh Iyer (51*). Pat Cummins and company now have another chance to book a place in the summit clash by trumping Sanju Samson's Rajasthan.
RR lost some steam towards the back end of the season, suffering four successive losses. To make matters worse, their final league match was washed out due to rain.
Despite the lack of momentum, Rajasthan delivered an impressive performance against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Eliminator. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, they restricted RCB to 172/8 in 20 overs.
Trent Boult bowled a brilliant spell with the new ball and claimed the important wicket of Faf du Plessis. Avesh Khan took three wickets, while Yuzvendra Chahal finished with two scalps.
Rajasthan chased down that target in 19 overs with four wickets in hand. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag shone with the bat, scoring 45 and 36, respectively.
The upcoming Qualifier 2 promises to be an enthralling encounter as both Hyderabad and Rajasthan look to go all guns blazing to secure a place in the IPL 2024 final.
Here, we take a look a three match-ups that could have a big impact on the result of the SRH vs RR clash.
Travis Head (SRH) vs Trent Boult (RR)
Travis Head had a blistering start to the season, taking the opposition bowlers to the cleaners with great consistency. However, the Hyderabad opener seems to have lost some form lately.
The Australian batter is coming into the Qualifier 2 with two back-to-back ducks to his name. Head was bamboozled by left-arm pacers on both occasions. Rajasthan would back their pace spearhead Trent Boult to get the better of the southpaw on Friday.
Boult has a knack for picking up wickets in the powerplay. Despite the recent failures, Head is expected to counter-attack right from the word go, making the contest between the two proven campaigners a mouth-watering affair for the spectators.
T Natarajan (SRH) vs Riyan Parag (RR)
Hyderabad's left-arm seamer T Natarajan has done a commendable job this year. With 18 wickets from 12 outings at an economy rate of 9.12, he is SRH's leading wicket-taker in IPL 2024.
He is expected to play a big role in the middle overs and towards the back end of the innings. It will be interesting to see how Natarajan goes up against Riyan Parag, who has established himself as Rajasthan's middle-order lynchpin this season.
Parag played a sensible 36-run knock against RCB in Eliminator. The talented youngster has been in stunning form, amassing 567 runs across 13 innings at an average of 56.70 and a strike rate of 151.60.
The right-handed batter has been out to Natarajan twice in five innings, but has scored 46 runs off 27 balls against him at a strike rate of 170.37 in the league.
Rahul Tripathi (SRH) vs Yuzvendra Chahal (RR)
Hyderabad batter Rahul Tripathi showcased exemplary composure under pressure in the team's Qualifier 1 against KKR. While the side lost wickets at regular intervals early on, he notched up a fine half-century to give SRH some hope.
However, Tripathi will have the challenging task of countering Rajasthan's ace leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, a bowler who has troubled him in the past. He has scored just 43 runs off 44 balls and has gotten out twice to the veteran bowler in the IPL.
Chahal has picked up 18 wickets from 14 outings at an economy rate of 9.48 in IPL 2024. He dismissed the in-form Virat Kohli in the Eliminator, providing his side with a massive breakthrough.
