Now that we have reached the final, we will definitely win the IPL: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

SRH vs RR. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

The Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their place in the IPL 2024 final by defeating Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday, May 24. Batting first, Hyderabad set a target of 176 runs, before restricting Rajasthan to 139 runs to seal this victory.

The Sunrisers will now face the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. JioCinema IPL experts Anil Kumble and Shane Watson broke down the performance of Shahbaz Ahmed (18 runs, 3/23), while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/33) and Rahul Tripathi (37 runs) spoke exclusively to JioCinema on Match Centre Live.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar on SRH reaching the final – “It’s a different feeling because we hadn’t played in the playoffs for the last three seasons. It’s a great feeling. The way we were playing this season, we had a feeling we would reach the final, and then it was a one-match scenario. Everyone’s happy with how everyone has contributed, it was fantastic teamwork… Winning the IPL title is really special and now that we have reached the final, we will definitely win the trophy.

Rahul Tripathi on his performance – “I had to wait for my opportunity, it was tough. Even when I wasn’t playing, I was thinking about how I would help the team when the opportunity came my way and how I could put my best foot forward. That thinking helped me. My preparation was to contribute positively whenever I got an opportunity.”

Anil Kumble on Shahbaz Ahmed – “Even with his previous franchise, RCB, he had the cricket smarts. He came in a different position, and even today, he batted. Yes, he bowled really well and got the length right. On Chennai pitches, you need to get the length right and bowl stump-to-stump, that’s all you need to do. You don’t need to think about anything else. You have to try to spin the ball, hit the pitch, and bowl a good length where it’s going to hit the stumps and that’s exactly what Shabhaz did. With the bat, his partnership with Klaasen, he batted really well. They were losing wickets, and his job was to be there till Klaasen was there and then take a chance. He did that to good effect.”

Also read: ‘We were short of options against spin’ – Sanju Samson reflects on where RR lost Qualifier 2 to SRH

Shane Watson on SRH’s spin bowling – “Not only did they take wickets, but they also didn’t go for many runs. Their economy rate is 5.9 runs, so that’s just perfect execution from the spin bowling unit. On the flipside of that, the Rajasthan Royals spinners, who I thought had a massive advantage with Chahal and Ashwin, they didn’t have that effect at all. They didn’t turn the ball, they didn’t try to rip the ball, obviously, the conditions were different in the second innings. A big tick to the Sunrisers spinners, they did a brilliant job.”