Watch: Cake-smeared Shahbaz Ahmed leads celebrations in SRH camp after entering IPL final | Cricket News

Watch: Cake-smeared Shahbaz Ahmed leads celebrations in SRH camp after entering IPL final | Cricket News

Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma‘s combined effort of five-wickets led Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) entry into the final of IPL 2024 with a comprehensive 36-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday, and the duo deservingly cut the victory cake as the team returned to their hotel in Chennai.SRH had lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 1 and will now face the same opponents in the title clash on Sunday.SRH previously won the title in 2016 while KKR have lifted the trophy twice before – in 2012 and 2014. IPL 2024 STANDINGS: Orange Cap | Purple Cap On Friday in Qualifier 2, SRH scored 175 for 9, thanks to Heinrich Klassen’s 34-ball 50. In chase, Rajasthan could only reach 139 for 7 as the two left-arm spinners Shahbaz (3 for 23) and Abhishek (2 for 24) tied the Royals’ batsmen into knots.Until Qualifier 2, it was Abhishek’s bat making most of the noise with 470 runs coming off his willow in 14 innings. While he could add only 12 more runs to it on Friday, it was his bowling spell of 2 for 24, which included wickets of Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson (10) and Shimron Hetmyer (4), that took SRH into the final.As the team entered the hotel lobby upon its return from the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the hotel staff had arranged for a cake, which was cut by the spin twins. But Shahbaz had no idea of what was coming next as one of his teammates took a big chunk from the cake and smeared it on Shahbaz’s face, much to the amusement of the rest of the squad watching on. Besides that fun, skipper Pat Cummins, Klaasen and Shahbaz also connected with the fans from the SRH dressing room after the win. WATCH VIDEOS OF SUNRISERS’ CELEBRATIONS

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IPL-17: SRH vs RR | I wasn't thinking much, was just focussed on the process: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

IPL-17: SRH vs RR | I wasn’t thinking much, was just focussed on the process: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates the last-ball wicket of Rajasthan Royals’ Rovman Powell during the IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad on May 2, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP Experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he wasn’t thinking much and just focussed on bowling two good deliveries after scripting Sunrisers Hyderabad’s sensational one-run win with a last-ball wicket in an IPL thriller here on Thursday. Defending 12 in the final over, Bhuvneshwar trapped Rovman Powell in front of the wicket in the last ball to stop Rajasthan Royal’s run chase at 200 for 7 and pull off a heist in the end. Sunrisers had scored 201 for 3 in their 20 overs, riding on fifties from Travis Head and Nitish Reddy. “I wasn’t thinking much about the result in the last over. There was no discussion in the last over, was just focussed on the process. Was thinking just about bowling two good balls, anything could have happened,” Bhuvneshwar, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 3 for 41, said at the post-match presentation. “The ball swung so much, can’t really pinpoint, really enjoyed it. Luckily got wickets today. When the season started thought process was different, but it changed when the batters played in such a way,” he added. SRH captain Pat Cummins was a happy man after his team managed to snap a two-game losing streak. “It was an amazing game. That’s T20 cricket. Anything can happen, Bhuvi executed that last ball. You try to take some wickets in the middle. Natarajan is a good yorker bowler, fortunately we got some wickets,” said the Australian pacer , who bowled a superb 19th over conceding just 7 runs. “We played some games here, thought 200 could have been chased down. He (Nitish Reddy) sums up the conditions pretty well, he’s amazing, great in the field, gives some overs with the ball as well,” Cummins added. Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said that even while it seemed his side was cruising to victory he was not certain they would get over the line given the unpredictable nature of the league. “We have played some really close games this season, won a couple of them and lost this one. Credit to the SRH bowlers for the way they fought back,” he said. “The margin of errors is very less in the IPL. The game is never done till it is done. It was tough to bat against the new ball and when it got old, it became easier. He was full of praise for the young duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag who resurrected the Royals’ innings after Jos Buttler and Samson got out for ducks in the first over. “Credit to both youngsters (Jaiswal and Parag), myself and Jos (Buttler) got out in the powerplay, they played well and got us to that position,” Samson Said.

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IPL 2024: SRH vs RR | My role is to carry on till 13th-14th over so that Klaasen gets license to play freely: Nitish Reddy

IPL 2024: SRH vs RR | My role is to carry on till 13th-14th over so that Klaasen gets license to play freely: Nitish Reddy

Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Nitish Reddy plays a shot during the IPL 2024 T20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, in Hyderabad, Thursday, May 2, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI Entrusted with the task of shepherding Sunrisers Hyderabad’s middle-order, young Nitish Reddy has been doing the job with aplomb at a time when he is seen by many as a future India all-rounder, thanks to his ability to bowl lively medium pace. Opting to bat in the IPL game against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday, Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) produced explosive fifties, while Heinrich Klassen made an unbeaten 19-ball 42 to power SRH to 201 for three. Experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar then did the star turn with a sensational final over as SRH pulled off a heist, stunning RR by just one run in a last-ball thriller to keep their playoff hopes alive. Nitish, 20, stated that his role was to rebuild the innings after quick wickets. “From the last two matches, we are losing quick wickets and I have to go. My role is to carry on till the 13th and 14th over so that Klaasen gets a license to bang. There is no point in Klaasen and Samad coming early, but not getting to score freely,” said Nitish at the post-match press conference. The all-rounder hailed Bhuvneshwar after the veteran pacer bowled a brilliant final over to help Hyderabad seal a dramatic win. Nitish said he was hopeful that Bhuvneshwar would be able to defend 13 runs in the last over. “I was looking at who was going to bowl. When I saw Bhuvneshwar was going to bowl, I got the confidence that he was going to pull it off.” “During his prime, he had done it so many times. I did not think we were going to win, I thought either we’d lose or tie. But that last-ball wicket, I felt so happy,” Nitish said. During his explosive knock, Nitish smashed RR’s in-form Yuzvendra Chahal for two fours and two sixes in the 13th over. Nitish said that he backed himself to attack the seasoned leg-spinner. Reddy also said the victory against RR, following losses to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings, is important. “Beating RR will boost our confidence, they are at the top of the points table,” he concluded. Not in my best form: Parag Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag returned to the top five in the Orange Cape race after striking his fourth fifty of the season. The 22-year-old Parag slammed 77 off 49 balls but could not help his side chase down the target set by SRH. Despite his breakout season with the franchise, Parag said he was not in his best form since he could not finish the game. “I got a lot of areas to improve. I am not in my best form, I would have finished the game otherwise. “I got a lot of areas to perfect. I try to learn from my mistakes and not repeat them. Is it my best innings? No. I would say that if I get a hundred,” Parag told reporters. The Assam player said the loss was “dramatic”, adding that his team made a few errors. “It is never good to end on the losing side. We did a lot of things right. We will focus on them more rather than dwelling on our mistakes. We are at a good position in the points table. Just one bad game I guess. “We made a few errors in two-three overs and it cost us the game. That is how T20 is, IPL is,” he said.

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Injury blow for Rajasthan Royals! Dhruv Jurel limps off the field - WATCH | Cricket News

Injury blow for Rajasthan Royals! Dhruv Jurel limps off the field – WATCH | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals batsman Dhruv Jurel on Thursday limped off the field with a suspected hamstring injury during the IPL 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.The incident occurred on the last ball of the ninth over when Sunrisers Hyderabad’s opener Travis Head hit a shot off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who is part of India’s 15-member T20 World Cup squad, towards deep mid-wicket. Dhruv Jurel, positioned near the boundary, sprinted to stop the ball but ended up straining his hamstring.Jurel appeared to be in pain and was subsequently taken off the field.WATCH: Nitish Reddy and Travis Head’s fifties propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to a formidable 201 for three against Rajasthan Royals.After choosing to bat, SRH opener Head capitalized on an early chance, smashing his fourth fifty of the season with a 44-ball 58. Meanwhile, Nitish, who remained unbeaten at 76 off 42 balls, notched his second half-century during a 96-run partnership off 57 balls for the third wicket.

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