IPL 2018: Ruthlessly choking opponents Sunrisers Hyderabad's road to final
Mumbai: They have been known to defend low totals in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and in fact the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) did it once again against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second Qualifier to set up the title clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) here on Sunday.
Kane Williamson’s men had entered the Qualifier 2 clash having lost their last four matches in the tournament, and it was Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan who stole the show with a 10-ball 34, a spell of 3-19, two catches and being involved in running out KKR’s Nitish Rana.
Ahead of the title clash against MS Dhoni’s CSK, we look at SRH’s road to IPL final.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals (Home)
A dominant SRH kicked off their tournament in style as captain Kane Williamson (78 runs) and Shikhar Dhawan (36 runs) clinched a nine-wicket win over Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL opener. Having restricted the visitors to 125-9 from 20 overs, it was done and dusted in just 15.5 overs as the hosts easily went past RR’s below-par total.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians (Home)
Another home game, another win. SRH could not have asked for a more better start as they downed the then-defending champions by one wicket, the second consecutive one-wicket loss Rohit Sharma’s men were suffering (After their loss to CSK in the first match).
After having restricted the visitors to 147-8, the road to victory was not easy for the 2016 champions, but Shikhar Dhawan (45 runs) top-scored as SRH won the match in a nail-biting last-ball finish. In the end, it was Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 32 which ensured that SRH would take away two more points.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
SRH made it three wins in as many matches they played after they beat Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets, clinching their first away victory.
After having restricted KKR to 138-8, captain Kane Williamson led from the front as he top-scored with 50 runs to see the visitors through with six points from three games.
Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Huyderabad (Away)
Star batsman Chris Gayle stole the show with an unbeaten 104 as Kings XI Punjab handed Kane Williamson’s men their first taste of defeat this season. After Gayle guided the hosts to 193-3, Williamson’s 54 went in vain as SRH finished their innings at 178-4 from 20 overs, falling 15 runs short.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings (Home)
SRH returned to their home turf at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium only to suffer a shock four-run defeat to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. Suresh Raina (54 runs) and Ambati Rayudu (79) stole the show as CSK successfully defended their total of 182-2, after SRH finished at 178-6. It was not Captain Kane’s night as his 84 went in vain with the hosts having suffered their second consecutive defeat.
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
The first of many totals the SRH have defended this season. All hopes were not lost even if the visitors were dismissed for 118 as their bowlers stole the show later on to create an upset, bundling out MI for just 87 runs.
Every SRH bowler were among the wickets. While Sandeep Sharma, Mohammad Nabi and Shakib Al Hasan picked up a wicket each, Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi ended up with two wickets. Siddarth Kaul, though, finished with three wickets.
Interestingly, only Suryakumar Yadav (34 runs) and Krunal Pandya (24) managed to score in double figures, with therest of the batsmen failing to go past the 10-run mark.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab (Home)
SRH bounced back on a perfect note in the reverse fixture, beating Kings XI Punjab by 13 runs in Hyderabad. Once again, the hosts proved why the tag ‘defenders’ suit them. After having finished their innings at 132-6, thanks to contributions by Manish Pandey (54 runs), Shakib Al Hasan (28) and Yusuf Pathan (21), Rashid Khan (three wickets), Sandeep Sharma (two wickets, Basil Thampi (two wickets) and Shakib (two wickets) ensured that the visitors were bowled out for 119 in 19.2 overs.
In the end, it was Ankit Rajpoot’s 5-14 from four overs that went in vain as KXIP suffered an unlucky 13-run loss.
Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
Another day, another total successfully defended. That was the moral of the story for SRH’s men as they clinched a 11-run win against Rajasthan Royals, this time in Jaipur.
Kane Williamson (63 runs) and Alex Hales (45) guided the visitors to 151-7 from 20 overs.
In the end, neither Rahane’s unbeaten 65 nor Sanju Samson’s 40 was enough for RR as SRH bowlers did the damage once again to restrict the hosts to 140-6 from their quota of 20 overs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Daredevils (Home)
If Rahane’s 65 was unlucky, the so was Prithvi Shaw’s. Shaw had made the same amount of runs as Rahane had made in SRH’s previous meeting with RR, only to be on the unlucky side once again.
In fact, DD’s tournament turned from bad to worse as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Kane Williamson’s men in Hyderabad.
A total of 163-5 was not enough for DD, as Hyderabad chased down the total in 19.5 overs, thanks to an all-round contribution by the hosts’ top-order batting lineup.
This was in fact SRH’s fourth win in as many matches ever since suffering a heart-breaking defeat to CSK at home.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Home)
Nothing seemed to be right for Virat Kohli’s RCB as they suffered a five-run loss to Kane Williamson’s SRH, despite restricting them to 146. Kane Williamson was once again, top-scoring with 56.
In the end, it was the SRH bowlers who did the damage, restricting RCB to 141-6 from 20 overs, with Kohli himself top-scoring with 39.
Again, what went in vain was three wickets by Tijm Southee and Mohammad Siraj for RCB, who ended up on the losing side.
Delhi Daredevils vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
Altogether, this was an entertaining match to sum. From Rishab Pant’s 63-ball 128 to a match-winning 186-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan (92 not out ) and Kane Williamson (83 not out), the match had it all. A nine-wicket win was enough for SRH to clinch their sixth win in as many matches.
Later on, it was after this win that SRH confirmed a playoff spot in this year’s IPL.
Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
Kane Williamson’s men suffered to their first defeat in six matches as Ambati Rayudu’s maiden IPL 100 guided the hosts to an eight-wicket win in their adopted home ground in Pune. Despite putting up a strong total of 179-4, it was a piece of cake for MS Dhoni’s men as they chased down te total with one over to spsare.
Incidentally, their last loss also came against CSK during their home game in Hyderabad.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Away)
SRH’s tournament took a different turn all of a sudden as they suffered a sock 14-run loss to Virat Kohli’s RCB.
AB de Villiers (69), Moeen Ali (65) and Colin de Grandhomme were the top performers for the hosts as they cruised to a total of 218-6. Kane Williamson (81) and Manish Pandey (60) responded strongly, only to fall short of the target by more than a dozen of runs, thereby handing SRH again their second consecutive loss.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Home)
SRH’s tournament became from bad to worse as the 2016 champs suffered a five-wicket loss to Dinesh Karthik’s KKR. In brief, it was Chris Lynn’s 55 that prevailed over Shikhar Dhawan’s 50, as SRH were dealt with another blow ahead of the playoffs.
Later on, after the conclusion of all league matches, it was confirmed that they would face Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings (Qualifier 1 in Mumbai)
SRH were third time unlucky against CSK as Faf du Plessis ( 67 runs not out) inspired the Yellow Brigade to a two-wicket win. Having just managed 139-7, it was a one-man show for CSK as du Plessis led from the front to seal CSK’s place in the IPL 2018 Final.
SRH, meanwhile, had another chance, as they could meet the winner of the eliminator contest between KKR and RR.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (Qualifier 2 in Kolkata)
This match was all about one man-Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. While he played a quickfire innings of 10-ball 34 runs, the 19-year-old finished with a spell of 3-19, two catches and one run-out, thereby knocking KKR out of the tournament by 14 runs.
This meant that Williamson’s men would set up the IPL 2018 final against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on May 27, Sunday.
