SRH vs RR emotional rollercoaster: Sunrisers at home in Chennai, stunning Heinrich Klaasen six, the inevitable Mr. Trent Boult

Sunrisers at home

The franchise might belong to Hyderabad but the Sunrisers’ ownership knows a thing or two about Chennai. The Sun TV Network office is in MRC Nagar, not far off from Chepauk. As the Marans – father Kalanithi and daughter Kavya – hugged each other when SRH won the Qualifier 2 to reach for the final, it sure felt like home for the Orange Army. Already having had a good season at their actual home in Uppal, Sunrisers produced a brilliant bowling effort in the heat and humidity of Chennai to reach the title clash at this very venue on Sunday. And they did so, intriguingly, by taking a leaf out of the Chennai Super Kings playbook at what has been their fortress. Two left-arm spinners choking the run-flow in the middle overs. A slew of slower ones from the pacers. And a shrewd captain manipulating his resources superbly. Sure, the lack of dew played a major part, but credit where it’s due. SRH became deserving finalists.

A nod, then a response

Yuzvendra Chahal vs Heinrich Klaasen… it was a chess-like battle. Chahal knows a thing or two about that. Against one of the fiercest strikers against spin in the world right now, Chahal had to put his thinking cap on. After bowling a dot ball on his pads, Chahal knew Klaasen would try to give himself room. Next ball, the leggie saw Klaasen back away and fired a wide yorker in that would have made the likes of Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma proud. Klaasen was beaten, and he nodded in approval. Two balls later, he’d show his class though. The South African has a stunning ability to pick length early, and hit sixes off backfoot even when the ball is not that full. So he rocked back, and merely lifted a drive-punch over extra cover for six. A truly extraordinary shot on a night when the SRH run-machine wasn’t quite free-flowing.

Bana liya hai inhone run maarne ka mann 🔥
Ab nahin rukenge Heinrich Klaasen 💪#TATAIPLPlayoffs #IPLonJioCinema #SRHvRR #TATAIPL #IPLinHindi pic.twitter.com/rMLDA0k69M

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 24, 2024

Tom and dreary

During the IPL playoffs, there is an initiative to plant a certain number of saplings for every dot ball bowled. The way Tom Kohler-Cadmore went in RR’s run-chase in the punishing heat and humidity of Chepauk, it seemed he was batting for a better environment. In all seriousness, the Englishman struggled for any sort of momentum as he played out 10 dot balls in a powerplay that RR would have wanted to maximise. Kevin Pietersen on air almost sounded exasperated about how the batter was losing his shape and going too hard at the ball. Coming in as the replacement for Jos Buttler is no easy task, but TKC seemed to be trying extra hard to justify that role. Eventually, his struggles came to an end as he skied a length ball from Pat Cummins to be caught out. A 16-ball 10 was a nightmare that he would be hoping to wake up from some time, but it was just the start SRH wanted.

The Inevitable Mr. Trent Boult

Travis Head came into the match on the back of two first-over ducks, bowled by left-arm pacers. So there was a lot of intrigue around the first ball as Trent Boult came steaming in. But unlike his usual accuracy, Boult gave Head a nice little short ball around the hips and he nervily tucked it away for a quick single to get off strike. Abhishek Sharma then teed off as he has been doing all season. A six over midwicket was so sweetly timed it made you wonder if this was just the first over of the match. Then a four down the ground. Advantage SRH again? Na, Boult in the powerplay is like Thanos…he’s inevitable. A short-of-length ball bounced extra on a fresh pitch, and it hurried Abhishek, who skied one to point. One half of the ‘Travishek Express’ was seen off early as Boult did Boult things.

Touch too good for himself

Rahul Tripathi was aghast at himself when he ramped a slow bouncer straight to the hands of the short third man. He kept cursing himself and hitting the turf until he reached the dugout. But only after he had played one of the most breathtaking cameos of the season. A no-look whip over the fine-leg fence would barge into the sixes reel of the tournament. But he reserved his real mastery against R Ashwin. By picking the ball from the stumps and moving across, he straightaway unsettled the off-spinner. After being swept for four, Ashwin dug into his reservoirs of variations. But Tripathi crunched the carrom ball over cover, he resorted to the reverse carrom, which he delectably cut with velvet hands of his. Ashwin lost his composure and fed him a full-toss on leg, which he gently swept over fine-leg. The no-look six and a fierce cut ensued. But he was in such irresistible touch that he could not but ramp the slow bouncer to short third. His touch, in the end, was too good for himself.

Head, balance of mind and body

Travis Head was in no hurry. After zeroes in his previous two outings, he was understandably watchful. It was not until the tenth ball that he struck his first four, which just about took his strike rate past 100. He has been leathering the ball at 200. But he would reap the rewards for the more orthodox methods. Eyes set, feet moving fluently, he unspooled a variety of strokes. None as compelling as the pick-up pull on one leg off Avesh Khan. The commentators likened it to Brian Lara’s identical stroke. Perhaps, without that mystical pre-delivery shuffle or the lasso-like bat-swing. But he exuded a similar grace (an attribute you wouldn’t often attribute to him), playing the ball right under his eyes and flicking more than pulling the ball at the most ideal time. The balance was imperious and he struck the pose in his follow-through for an eternity.

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