IPL 2024: Revived Rajasthan Royals take on hit-or-miss Sunrisers Hyderabad for place in IPL final

SRH opening duo Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma during an IPL match

With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni all consigned to the back pages of this season’s IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will battle it out in Chennai for the chance to take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Sunday’s final at the same venue. Both teams have experienced an IPL of two halves: a dominant first half with victories and batters in tremendous form, followed by a challenging second half where they each won only 3 out of 8 matches. Now, they stand at loggerheads, ready to fight for that final place.

The two Powerplay bowlers for SRH and RR, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Trent Boult, are the top two wicket-takers in that phase of play in IPL 2024. Bhuvi has picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.68, while Boult has taken 9 wickets at an economy rate of 6.71. Travis Head's performance against balls slanting into him is a concern for SRH, as he has been dismissed three times in seven innings by left-arm pacers. SRH can utilise T Natarajan early on against Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been out six times in 12 innings to left-arm pace.

The decisive passage of play will centre on how SRH's batters handle RR's spinners and how SRH's tweakers cope if RR take them on. While Ravi Ashwin, the Player of the Match in the eliminator, and Yuzvendra Chahal can trouble most batters, SRH rely heavily on pace bowlers and have limited spin resources. RR's spinners have been highly effective this season, taking 29 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 8.78, making them the third-highest wicket-takers among spinners. In contrast, SRH's slow bowlers have struggled, picking up the fewest wickets this IPL with 13 from 14 matches at an economy rate of 11.20.

SRH must find a way to reintegrate Aiden Markram into the side. Without Markram, the middle order has been overly reliant on the inexperienced Nitish Reddy, who hasn't been consistent. Conversely, RR have improved their finishing capabilities with Shimron Hetmyer back, but their opening partnership has taken a hit with Jos Buttler unavailable and Jaiswal experiencing ups and downs.

SRH's Rahul Tripathi and RR's Riyan Parag have played some valuable innings, particularly Parag. Generally known more for his attitude than performance in the IPL, Parag has turned things around this year, delivering match-winning knocks without the antics. Tripathi played an important knock of 55 in Qualifier 1 and looked in sublime form until a run-out cut his innings short. The spotlight will again be on these two.

Both teams have had topsy-turvy seasons, and the experienced hands like Bhuvneshwar, Boult, and Ashwin – at the venue where he made his name – could play pivotal roles. The strategic use of spinners and reintegration of Markram could be game-changing factors, as will Sanju Samson’s battle of leadership wits against SRH’s Pat Cummins, one of the coolest heads in the business.

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