Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins revealed that it was head coach Daniel Vettori’s idea to introduce Shahbaz Ahmed as the impact substitute, a move that turned out to be the game-defining moment of Qualifier 2. In the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers have heavily relied on their pace bowling set-up to get them across the finishing line. But on Chepauk, Cummins took everyone by surprise after introducing the spin duo of Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma.
Shahbaz added 18 runs with the bat and picked up a three-wicket haul while bowling in the middle overs. Along with Abhishek Sharma, the left-arm spinner ensured that the IPL final would be a rematch between the Qualifier 1 teams – SRH and Kolkata Knight Riders.
“That was Vettori’s choice, he likes his left-arm orthodox and wanted as many left-arm orthodox as possible,” Cummins said on bringing in Shahbaz as an impact sub, after the game.
Abhishek didn’t have his usual destructive outing with the bat against Rajasthan. He struck 13 before losing his wicket on the final ball of the first over.
He made amends by delivering with the ball and picking up wickets of the in-form duo of Shimron Hetmyer and skipper Sanju Samson.
“That was a surprise, tried to stick one out of him (Abhishek) with a couple of right-handers and he bowled beautifully and those two won it with their bowling in the middle overs. We knew our strength was our batting and we wouldn’t underestimate the experience we have in this squad, it’s a dream having Bhuvi, Nattu and Unadkat, makes my job easy,” Cummins added.
The left-arm spin duo combined to pick five wickets in their eight-over spell while giving away 47 runs at an economy of 5.87.
After sealing a spot in the final, Cummins stated that 170 was going to be a tough chase and opened up about the atmosphere in the dressing room.
“The boys have been fantastic all season. There’s a great vibe in the squad as you can see and the final was the goal at the start of the season and we made it. 170 was a tough chase and had we got a couple of wickets we knew we had a chance,” Cummins stated.
Recapping the match, after winning the toss, Samson decided to bowl. Heinrich Klaasen’s 50-run blitz helped Sunrisers post 175/9 on the board.
In reply, the spin duo didn’t allow Rajasthan to stay close to the asking rate. The pacers did their job and kept the batters at bay. Rajasthan succumbed to 139/7 and suffered a 36-run defeat.
Sunrisers will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the ongoing edition at Chepauk on Sunday.
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