SRH vs RR, Qualifier 2 at Chennai, IPL, May 24 2024 - Match Result

A humdinger of a Qualifier 2. An old-school T20. And a game that had all the ingredients that kept you guessing for most of the evening. Congratulations, fans of SRH. Hard luck, Royals fans. That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo tonight. See you on Sunday for the IPL 2024 final!

11.40pm Impact Player Shahbaz Ahmed is the POTM: "(You knew you'll be an impact player?) Captain and coach said that we'll use you according to the situation. My role is to play lower-order and since we had a collapse, I got a chance. (Pitch for today's bowling for him) When I was batting, I felt this wicket had something when Sandeep and Avesh were bowling. Felt there'll be purchase later. (His SRH experience, being traded, not playing every game) I am feeling proud to be MOTM in such a big match. The team environment has been relaxed. (Celebration tonight?) We'll save the celebrations for after the final. For now, it's about relaxation."

11.36pm Time for the presentation.

Pat Cummins, SRH's winning captain: (on SRH's turnaround from 2023) You've seen that in the way we played. The finals was the goal and we've made it. (Finding another way to win tonight) We knew our strength was batting but we wouldn't underestimate the experience in the side like Nattu, Unadkat and Bhuvi. (Shahbaz as the Impact Sub choice) That was Vettori's choice, he likes his left-arm spinners. (Using Sharma's four overs) I felt there was a bit of a grip. (Total felt enough at the break?) Finals are always funny. These turn into tough chases. Needed early wickets and we got that. (Seeing how dew works in India) I won't ever pretend to work out how it works. (Final) For the whole franchise, there are 60-70 of us who are involved, it is really gratifying. Hopefully one more."

Mustafa Moudi : "Massive advantage for the SRH is that they are the only team to make it to the Top 4 that have No players from England, so they didnt lose a single player due to International matches !!"

Soumya: "Shout out to Abhishek. No other opener has played all the games for his team and had strike rate above 200 in IPL ever. And he can bowl beautifully too. He is the Emerging Player of this IPL. No disregards to Parag, off course."

Mohan: main impact arrived from Tripathi. His kick start placed SRH way above RR on sluggish Chennai pitch."

Les: "IPL final will not have a single player to represent India in the T20 world cup!!"

Abhishek Sharma: (Did you think you'll bowl your full quota?) I didn't know I will bowl this game but I was happy that I got to bowl. I've been working on my batting a lot but I've been working on my bowling with my dad. So special mention to my dad. (Pitch worked for him?) Patty used the spinners really well. There was more turn in the second innings. (No dew, that's why more part-time spin) I think it's the pressure that I've put on our team in the practice session that's why maybe I got a chance (smiles). But Shahbaz and I did well. (IPL 2024 for him) It came from Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. We won the Trophy for Punjab and the momentum came from there. I had confidence for this season from the conversations in the meetings where the batters were given freedom." (Final) It is one of my dreams to play the IPL final, it is coming true this year."

Satyam Garg: "Excluding jurel and jaiswal, other RR batsman scored 36 runs in 11 overa. Inexplicable. "

11.19pm The SRH part-timers bowled 9 of the 20 overs. In those 54 balls, they conceded only 57 runs and took five wickets. Time for the losing captain Sanju Samson now: "Proud of our bowlers, but we were short in the middle overs. (No dew) Very hard to guess when we are expecting dew. Wicket behaved differently in the second innings, ball was turning. Their use of spin against our right-handed batsmen was good. (Lack of intent with the bat?) Left-arm spin vs right-handers in the middle-order.... when the ball was turning, we could've used sweep or used our feet, but they bowled well. We've had some brilliant games, we've had a great project as a franchise, we've produced some great talent for the country. Parag, Jurel, exciting not only for RR but for India team too. (Sandeep Sharma's season) I'm very happy for him. By not being picked from the auction and coming as a replacement, he has done awesome. He will be the next guy after Bumrah if you see his numbers, economy and so all. (IPL 2024 final) I think this condition suits both the finalists. SRH batsmen are very interesting, they can take the game away. KKR's confidence makes them look very exciting. Great final expected that's what IPL has been giving us last 15-16 years."

11.16pm SRH have done it! Making full use of their second-chance opportunity courtesy their top-two finish, they have managed to qualify into the final by beating Royals tonight. SRH lost the toss, were asked to bowl when conditions were supposed to be dewy, but there was very little dew and their spinners feasted on this pitch that wore out as the evening progressed. While Abhishek and Shahbaz impressed with the ball, don't forget the spunky cameo from Tripathi and the 34-ball half-century from Klaasen. Even SRH had some times of trouble in their batting innings, but they didn't have a meltdown like the Royals.

Eric: "KKR v SRH is the first match up to have featured in all 4 playoff matches- Q1 (2024), Eliminator (2016, 2017), Q2 (2018), Final (2024). For those wondering, CSK v MI have never played this particular fixture against each other, Q2"

The SRH players are on their feet.

Natarajan.

RR are one ball away from pretty much being eliminated.

Some RR fans are in tears...

Pranali: "SRH did not get funky unlike RR who had their spinner bowl 2 in the power play and 1 in the death"

RR fans have their hands on their head. Writing on the wall getting clear.

T Natarajan. The local boy. In conversation with Bhuvi and Pat.

Sri: "@SJ: Assumptions are also nic thing. It is no guarantee that Jurel wouldd have played the same way in powerplay against different bowlers and also match conditions."