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.
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