IPL 2024: Qualifier 2, SRH vs RR: IPL Records & Stats at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

RR vs RCB. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Having crushed RCB’s hopes in the Eliminator, Rajasthan Royals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier of IPL 2024, which will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 24.

SRH were subjected to a rather one-sided defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the first qualifier in Ahmedabad. After losing Travis Head early and a continued barrage of testing deliveries by Mitchell Starc in the powerplay, SRH’s innings didn’t take off even as Rahul Tipathi tried to pull it back with an excellent fifty. Heinrich Klaasen also put up a fight but after the duo’s dismissal, things turned bleak for SRH as Varun Chakravarthy was at his usual best in the middle overs.

SRH managed to put up a respectable total as Pat Cummins and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth put up the second-highest partnership for the 10th wicket in IPL history. KKR also started sedately at the start but fifties from Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer made sure that KKR had no more hiccups. 

In the eliminator, RR put RCB in and tied them down in the powerplay courtesy of Trent Boult. R Ashwin then piled on RCB’s misery in the middle overs and despite aggressive thrities from Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, RCB could only manage 172. The presence of dew meant that RCB needed to be on their A-game in the field but that never came out. Yashasvi Jaiswal kept putting up the pressure after being dropped early, but his dismissal led to a short collapse led by Cameron Green. Shimron Hetmyer, with some support from Riyan Parag and Rovman Powell, arrested the slide as RR were home with an over to spare. 

Also read: Most Runs in IPL 2024

The two teams came up against each other just once in the league stage, at Hyderabad. Uncharacteristically, SRH started slowly, but Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen picked up the slack and pushed SRH’s total over 200. RR, too, fell in trouble after losing two wickets in the first over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Jaiswal and Parag made fifties to keep their team in the hunt. However, Pat Cummins and T Natarajan came back near the end overs to dismiss them both. Powell did not let that deter him and kept going at the target until Bhuvneshwar came back to defend 13 runs off the last over, including the wicket of Powell on the last ball as SRH won by just one run. 

RR will want to settle some the score and enter their third-ever IPL final, the same number that SRH will have entered into if  they secure a win. The winner of the eliminator has only won the second qualifier thrice in the previous 13 matches so RR will want to break that streak. 

MA Chidambaram Stadium Pitch Report:

At the start of the season, Chepauk offered a flat surface, but as the season progressed, it returned to the Chepauk of old, making life tough for the batters with lots of help for spinners. Dew may likely be present, so the captain winning the toss may prefer to chase.

IPL Records & Stats at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Out of the 83 matches played at the venue, 35 have been won by the team batting second. The average first innings total has been 165. 

SRH vs RR Strategies & Match-ups:

The loss of Jos Buttler did not seem to deter RR or Yashasvi Jaiswal, but on a pitch that could be difficult to bat on, RR openers will have to be careful about not going into a hole the way they did against CSK in their last match at the venue.

SRH’s openers are also struggling for form and the difficult conditions at Chepauk will make RR happy. The important matchups will be Trent Boult vs Travis Head, Yuzvendra Chahal vs Nitish Kumar Reddy, R Ashwin vs Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Yashasvi Jaiswal, T Natarajan vs Shimron Hetmyer, Pat Cummins vs Rovman Powell. 

Player Battles to Watch Out For:

Abhishek Sharma vs Trent Boult:

In 21 balls, Abhishek has only scored 13 runs against Boult at a strike rate of 61.9 while being dismissed once. With the openers expected to struggle, it wouldn’t be suprising if Boult manages to win the battle against the SRH opener. 

Also read: Most Wickets in IPL 2024

Heinrich Klaasen vs Yuzvendra Chahal:

Klaaseen is rightfully deemed one of the most dangerous players against spin in the world. And his matchup withn Chahal will give RR headaches. In just 12 balls, Klaasen has scored 28 runs at a strike rate of 233.33 and dismissed just once with an average of 28. 

X-Factors for SRH vs RR:

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

On a pitch likely to assist spin, SRH will want one of the best spin-hitters in the world, Heinrich Klaasen, to step up his game, given RR’s two experienced spinners Ashwin and Chahal. 

Rajasthan Royals:

R Ashwin just won his first Player of the Match award in the Eliminator. He will be returning to a ground he knows all too well and will be raring to go against a struggling batting lineup.