The Rajasthan Royals restricted the Sunrisers Hyderabad to 175 for 9 wickets in a crucial Qualifier 2 match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday.
Put in to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma attempted a strong start. However, Trent Boult struck early, dismissing Sharma in the first over despite conceding a six and a boundary earlier. This wicket extended Boult's record to 29 wickets taken in the opening over of IPL matches.
Head, who was batting steadily, fell to Sandeep Sharma for 34 runs. Boult also claimed the wicket of Rahul Tripathi, whose aggressive 37 runs off 15 balls kept Sunrisers in contention for a strong total.
Avesh Khan entered the attack for Rajasthan Royals and delivered a double blow in the 14th over, dismissing Nitish Reddy and Abdul Samad consecutively. This left Sunrisers struggling at 120/6.
Heinrich Klaasen's fiery half-century and a late cameo of 18 runs from Shahbaz Ahmed helped Sunrisers reach a respectable total of 175/9. Boult and Avesh Khan were the pick of the bowlers, each taking three wickets. Rajasthan Royals bowlers dominated the first innings.
The winner will face the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on May 26.
