IPL 2024: Spin seals final deal for Sunrisers

Chennai: If Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide was a pitch it would look like Pitch No. 7 at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Friday night.

On a pitch with bi-polar tendencies, Sunrisers Hyderabad came out benefactors as they claimed a spot in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders following their 36-run win against Rajasthan Royals in their Qualifier 2. 

As the tropical evening sweat dew onto the surface even as early as 8 pm, the Royals’ bowlers showcased their experience level by keeping Sunrisers down to 175 for in 20 overs. 

This was a testament to Trent Boult (3/45), Sandeep Sharma (2/25) and Avesh Khan (3/27) and their astute reading of the pitch to ensure they took the pace off the ball. 

It was only natural then to assume that the sweating would continue and the surface would be akin to a concrete slab for batting ease in the chase. Instead, when the wind factor picked up, the dew evaporated quickly enough to render the pitch a turning, and occasionally drifting, predicament. 

What then happened was no matter how quickly left-arm spinners Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) fired in the ball, there was turn, an absurd amount of it too. 

Juxtapose that with the lack of turn when R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal got during their spells and you’ll realise why Royals’ batters would have been seeing double. 

Here’s a stat: In the first innings the ball turned an average of 1.8 degrees while it spiked to 3.3 degrees in the second innings.  

Now, with the ball gripping and turning against all odds, Royals’ typically free-flowing batters were caught out of as strategy. The only one they could plausibly employ is to wait and watch but the pitch never relented. To top it off, Pat Cummins’ bowling unit was on top of its game. 

Royals continued to muck about, looking as if dancing with two left feet. In the end, they were restricted to an inexplicable 139 for 7 in 20 overs in a turn of events which defied the trend of chasing teams enjoying the advantage of predictable elements.

It’s one which will continue to confound skipper Sanju Samson for a few nights to come because after the first innings he would have felt his side was comfortably in front. By all reasonable metrics, they were.

And yet, once the broadcasters started focussing their cameras on the flags to suggest wind speed, and when the roving camera’s tyres didn’t show signs of dew after the power play of the second innings, it became obvious that the outfield was about as dry as the surface now.

This meant the Sunrisers could allow their bowlers to bowl to their strengths without stressing about hiding from these long-levered batters. 

Besides the two spinners, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cummins and T Natarajan were exceptional with their direction and tact. In fact, this was the first time the Sunrisers had defended a sub-180-run total this entire season. 

So, while the Sunrisers came back from a spot of bother to get a win under their belt and line Kolkata up, the Royals will be wondering what hit them. 

Actually, besides their desperate attitude and quality bowling from the Sunrisers, there is a cyclone passing Chennai at this very moment and that has led to a spike in temperature and wind speed. That should be closure enough.