Klaasen, spinners standout as SRH marches into final
Cummins operated spinners at both ends and that paid off as Abhishek got rid of the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer, who had come in as an impact sub.
CHENNAI: Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s 3 for 23 and Heinrich Klaasen’s valuable 50 paved the way for Sunrisers Hyderabad to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in the Qualifier 2 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday and storm into the IPL final. Hyderabad will meet Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on Sunday.
Shahbaz was aided in his task by Abhishek Sharma, who picked up two wickets for 24 runs. Hyderabad team’s self-belief and ability to fight helped them secure this creditable victory.
Pat Cummins’ experience of leading Australia came in handy as he employed his spinners, Shahbaz and Abhishek, at both ends. This proved to be a masterstroke as Rajasthan middle-order were undone by the slower bowlers. The duo bowled five overs at a stretch and accounted for four wickets giving away just 24 runs, which played a massive part in Hyderabad’s win.
Set a target of 176 for victory, Rajasthan openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tom Kohler-Cadmore opted for a cautious approach. While the duo were comfortable playing Bhuvneshwar Kumar, they were tentative against Cummins. The Australian captain hit the deck in the right areas and was able to extract good bounce and carry.
In one such moment, Kohler-Cadmore failed to time the ball adequately and skied to Rahul Tripathi at cover.
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