Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) owner Kavya Maran was spotted hugging her father Kalanithi Maran in joy after her team booked their spot in the IPL 2024 by defeating Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, May 24.
After posting total of 175/9, thanks to Heinrich Klaasen's valiant innings of 50 off 34 balls, Sunrisers Hyderabad restricted Rajasthan Royals to 139/7 in 20 overs. Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) combined five wickets and effectively used the spinning track to their advantage, challenging the RR batters with their spin bowling.
Skipper Pat Cummins (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/13) contributed to SRH's bowling by taking a wicket each.
Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel fought a lone battle for Rajasthan Royals as his fighting innings of 56 off 35 balls went in vain. Despite a ball struck on his neck off Natarajan's bouncer, Jurel continued to carry on RR's run-chase despite slim chances of chasing down 176-run target.
As soon as Sunrisers Hyderabad scripted a victory against Rajasthan Royals in an important clash, Kavya Maran was seen in a ecstatic mood as she celebrated her team's victory in the VIP stand enthusiastically. She went up and hugged her father Kalanithi Maran, who was in the VIP stand as well, sharing joyous moment with her daughter. The video of the same went viral on social media.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are considered one of the strong contenders to win the elusive IPL title, given their incredible campaign in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. SRH finished the league stage by securing the second spot with 8 wins in their 14 outings and accumulated 17 points.
SRH locked horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 1 but lost the match by eight wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 21. Pat Cummins-led side got another opportunity to make it to the Final by playing Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals and they secured their berth for the title clash against KKR.
Sunrisers Hyderabad to aim for 2nd IPL title
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be aiming to lift the elusive IPL title for the second time in their history of cash-rich franchise T20 league. The last time SRH clinched the IPL title was in 2016, defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru under the leadership of David Warner.
Sunrisers Hyderabad reached the final in 2018 but lost to third-time champions Chennai Super Kings, who returned to IPL after serving two years ban due to match-fixing. SRH qualified for the playoffs thrice in 2017, 2019 and 2020, but failed to go past the knockout stage.
In the previous three IPL seasons, Sunrisers Hyderabad had disappointing campaigns as they failed to make it to the playoffs. Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, the fortunes of SRH have changed as they keep their eye on their coveted trophy in this IPL season.
