SRH vs GT Highlights, IPL 2024: Sunrisers Hyderabad qualify for playoffs as match against Gujarat Titans is called off due to rain

The officials and ground staff are out and it is still raining which can mean only one thing. We are moments away from official confirmation of game getting called off, updates Tanishq Vaddi from the venue

The defending champions Chennai Super Kings didn’t have a fairytale return to the Narendra Modi Stadium – the venue where they lifted the IPL trophy last year. The Gujarat Titans – the team they had bested in the summit clash – openers, skipper Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, scored a century each as the home team put together a beatdown on the visiting side’s bowlers. (READ MORE)

The online ticket sales for the IPL 2024 playoffs started on Tuesday. Tickets for every IPL match in the playoffs is now on sale.

Ahead of the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants today, six teams have a shot at joining KKR in the IPL 2024 playoffs: Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals.

Still raining at the venue and we are sure to have a reduction in overs now. The cut-off time for a 5-over game is 10.30 pm. Stii over an hour to go but the rain needs to stop

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: Match officials are having a discussion with the curator and groundsmen and things are looking grim here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

The other night, Harshal Patel snapped up a couple of wickets to overtake Jasprit Bumrah in the leading wicket-takers’ tally in IPL 2024. The 2022 Purple Cap winner is now the holder of the Cap with 22 scalps in 13 matches.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians seamer Jasprit Bumrah is second in the charts with 20 wickets to his name. Bumrah’s economy is superior to the Punjab Kings bowler, helping him to the top of the standings. (READ MORE)

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: If the game gets washed out, a very real possibility by the look of things right now, SRH will qualify for the playoffs. But top 2 will depend on the result between RR vs KKR in Guwahati even if SRH beats PBKS on Sunday here.

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: Just when the two teams had started to warm up and there were talks about an 8:30 PM start, it's started raining once again and the covers are back on. These aren't good signs as some of the crowd has started to leave. If this continues, we might have the game called off.

128 runs separate the two but you wouldn't bet it against the Aussie, would you? He's been a breathe of fresh air as an SRH opener in the post-David Warner era, and has even got the best out of Abhishek Sharma. 

As of now, Head sits third in the run-scoring tally, and has two league games left to be played as opposed to Kohli's one. As it stands, SRH have a better chance of making it to the playoffs than RCB, sorry not sorry namma fans.

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: For the first time this evening, the pitch has been uncovered by the ground staff. SRH skipper Pat Cummins and coach Daniel Vettori having a peek at the surface as the ground staff provides finishing touches. 

While Sunrisers Hyderabad are two points behind Rajasthan Royals, they still have a game in hand. If they win their remaining league fixtures, a solid net-run rate or a favorable result in Rajasthan's final fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders would be enough to help the 2016 winners pip the 2008 champions to get to the playoffs. (MORE HERE)

So the covers in Uppal are coming off, updates Tanishq Vaddi from the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hopefully we can get an update about the toss in the next 15 minutes.

Tanishq Vaddi (From Hyderabad): The rain has stopped but the covers are still on. The ground staff has worked relentlessly on the outfield that's been left uncovered for a bit now. Just as we speak, the match referee is having a word with the two captains and good news, the covers are being taken off. Spoke too soon, it's started drizzling again and the covers are back on.

SRH: All eyes will be on pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has recently found his mojo, taking 11 wickets in this edition of the IPL. Kumar has been a bane to Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill’s existence, dismissing him thrice while yielding just 57 runs. With the form he is in and Gill’s inconsistent run in the IPL, you will be well placed to not bet against the seamer.

GT: Skipper Gill roared back into form in the match against the Chennai Super Kings, scoring a blistering century and bringing up a 210-run first wicket partnership with Sai Sudharsan. He would have liked to flex his muscles against his former team Kolkata Knight Riders but weather had played spoilsport so tonight, he’ll hope to sign off the IPL with another strong performance with the bat against SRH.

Out of the 583 runs he has scored in this season so far, Travis Head has got 385 runs (66.03%) in the powerplay alone. He averages 128.33 in this phase with a strike rate of 220. His opening partner Abhishek Sharma has scored 285 (71.07%) of his tally of 401 runs in the powerplay, at a strike rate of 205.04

Going into the season there was an element of not knowing what to expect from the side and Skipper Cummins- the player who was brought for a heavy price tag of 20.50 crores despite having a mediocre bowling record in IPL before the current season. Neither has he captained any IPL side or Australia in T20Is before but had proven his leadership for Australia in other formats.

However, leading a country and a franchise is comparing oranges to apples. Leading Australia where he has known his players for the majority of his career is quite different from leading an IPL side where he has to adapt and understand the skill sets of players sometimes he is unaware of in a short space of time. But all speculations were put to rest once the tournament started.

(READ Tanishq Vaddi's analysis on how Australia's magic man has changed the fortunes of an underwhelming Hyderabad franchise)

Simon Helmot, SRH assistant coach: "It was a little bit challenging the first time we played against Gujarat on their wicket. Again, it's just to remind ourselves not every wicket is going to be 200-plus. We need to assess in real time how it's going and communicate with each other, and remember that we're working in a partnership. That has been the learning we got after that game. We've been 11 games on since then (nine), we just need to make sure to maintain our strategy and execute as best we can."

Shubman Gill, GT captain: "It's never easy. Some of our key players got injured before the season, and in the season as well we've had some injuries. It's not easy for the players coming in to be able to perform straightaway. But apart from that I think it was just a matter of one match, here and there. The match against Delhi which we lost by one run, a match like that could go either way. I think in the first couple of years a lot of matches like that went in our favour. At the end of the day the margin is very close, so it's hard to identify or pinpoint a moment or a particular area. But I think collectively as a fielding unit we let ourselves down in some of the key moments."

While the rains seem to ease up in some parts of the city of Hyderabad, a tweet from the official Twitter account of the Director Of Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation said: “Heavy rainfall is expected today in Hyderabad city. Till 6pm there is a break in rainfall today and may resume after 6pm. Citizens may plan their travel accordingly.”

This was predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) earlier as well. (READ MORE)

The Sunrisers are playing the last 2 matches at home in the Uppal which is a typical batting surface, considering this is where SRH had decimated LSG by 10 wickets and posted the-then highest score of the IPL with 277 against the Mumbai Indians. Expect much of the same tonight with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma bringing in the thunder.

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth

GT: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Matthew Wade (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi

“Invest in him. He’s the next big thing, not just in franchise cricket,” India batter Hanuma Vihari quote tweeted an old post on X, shortly after his young statemate Nitish Kumar Reddy smashed 64 runs off 37 balls for SunRisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings.

As a 20-year-old, one must have serious potential to break into the SRH XI this year, with a host of international stars headlining the batting and bowling departments. Sealing a breezy win over the Chennai Super Kings with his eight-ball 14 cameo at number six that culminated with a six, Nitish had done enough to get another go. Lalith Kalidas traces the journey of a promising all-round prospect for Indian cricket. (READ HERE)

In an exclusive interview with Sriram Veera & Sandeep Dwivedi, days before he was left out of the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, Shubman Gill shares how he deals with success and failure. From the child prodigy who never failed, he is now a seasoned star at peace with the game’s inglorious uncertainties. The most recent of which have been his underwhelming debut as an IPL captain. (READ HERE)

vs Mumbai Indians: Won by six runs 

vs Chennai Super Kings: Lost by 63 runs 

vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Won by seven wickets 

vs Punjab Kings: Won by three wickets 

vs Lucknow Super Giants: Lost by 33 runs 

vs Rajasthan Royals: Won by three wickets 

vs Delhi Capitals: Lost by six wickets 

vs Punjab Kings: Won by three wickets 

vs Delhi Capitals: Lost by four runs 

vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Lost by nine wickets 

vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Lost by four wickets 

vs Chennai Super Kings: Won by 35 runs 

vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Match abandoned without toss

vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Lost by four runs 

vs Mumbai Indians: Won by 31 runs 

vs Gujarat Titans: Won by seven wickets 

vs Chennai Super Kings: Won by six wickets 

vs Punjab Kings: Won by two runs

vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Won by 25 runs 

vs Delhi Capitals: Won by 67 runs 

vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Lost by 35 runs 

vs Chennai Super Kings: Lost by 78 runs 

vs Rajastan Royals: Won by 1 run 

vs Mumbai Indians: Won by seven wickets 

vs Lucknow Super Giants: Won by 10 wickets 

Pat Cummins isn’t the kind of Aussie that India has grown up watching and grudgingly appreciated. He isn’t quite like the late Shane Warne. The confrontation and controversy seeker, the ‘play hard, party harder’ believer, the true celebrity cricketer – Warne was the Aussie. Cummins, though, is doing at Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) what Warne did at Rajasthan Royals in the opening season. (READ Sandeep Dwivedi's column on what makes SRH the favorites to go all the way this season)

Every now and then, the world needs to be reminded, Cummins is really good at this hip thing called fast bowling. Cummins the skipper must be held accountable. It’s not like he isn’t considered among the greatest bowlers of this generation anymore, but it is during the coronation of a fine cricketing leader that the pacer has been flagrantly overlooked. (Read more)

Since the IPL became a 10-team format two seasons ago, Rajasthan Royals have slammed 351 sixes — the third most. The game-changer here is this number; nearly 29 percent of RR’s entire tally of sixes since 2008. Some of Rajasthan Royals’ brightest stars immediately impressed the in-house scouts by hitting sixes during trials over the years. A young Sanju Samson’s standout shot was a straight six to a back-of-the-length ball, Riyan Parag’s six was over mid-wicket, Dhruv Jurel went over extra cover, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ramp shot almost went all the way.

But Rajasthan Royals kept their big-hitters up to date with the batting evolution in T20 cricket. They were quick to learn from baseball, using data and research to stay ahead of the curve.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Markande, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Wade(w), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Sandeep Warrier, Abhinav Manohar, Sharath BR, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, Joshua Little, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Spencer Johnson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Manav Suthar, Sushant Mishra

Out-of-contention Punjab Kings extend Rajasthan Royals losing streak as Sam Curran leads from the front with bat and ball. (READ MORE)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) late resurgence has been the story of the IPL 2024 season so far but can they pull off one more win in the IPL match against South Indian rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK)?

After languishing near the bottom of the points table in the first part of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) season, RCB have turned the tide and now with five wins on the bounce they are currently placed at No 5 and are still alive for the IPL playoffs race.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an IPL match that could potentially be a knockout game to decide which team to makes it to the IPL playoffs.

Both teams need to win the game to secure a spot. There is plenty of buzz for the IPL match, where fans will get to see Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni play. There is a possibility that this could be Dhoni’s last match for the Chennai Super Kings, which explains the surge in demand for tickets for the game.

Played: 12, points: 14, NRR: 0.406 | Remaining matches: GT (h), PBKS (h)

SRH have two remaining matches, against Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings, both scheduled to be held at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on May 16 and 19. Despite their current standing, SRH will aim to secure victories in these matches to further solidify their position for the IPL playoffs. SRH’s superior run rate compared to LSG’s provides them with a considerable advantage, and securing just one win in their two remaining games should be sufficient to ensure their qualification for the IPL playoffs.

Two victories could potentially elevate them to contention for a top-two finish. However, if they were to lose both matches, their IPL playoff hopes could be jeopardized, as both CSK and RCB could leapfrog them in the standings based on Net Run Rate.

The Sunrisers are playing the lasy 2 matches at home in the Uppal which is a typical batting surface, considering this is where SRH had decimated LSG by 10 wickets and posted then-then highest score of the IPL with 277 against the Mumbai Indians. Expect much of the same tonight with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma bringing in the thunder.  

According to out Hydserabad correspondent Tanishq Vaddi, it's raining in the city right now. If the match gets washed out, SRH and GT will share one point apiece. After this, SRH have another match, winning which will get them to 17 which might not guarantee a Top 2 finish if Rajasthan defeat KKR. If that happens, RR will reach 18 and virtually guarantee themselves the Top 2.

Hyderabad and Gujarat have faced each other 4 times in the Indian Premier League with the Titans running away with the win 3 times while the Sunrisers have won just once

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.

GT: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Matthew Wade (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are in pole position to finish in the Top 2 after Rajasthan Royals stumbled against the Punjab Kings on Wednesday. Tonight, SRH are facing the Gujarat Titans, a team that is already eliminated and will hope to take advantage of RR's slip. If SRH win 2 out of 2, they will finish with 18. Even if RR win their last game against KKR and reach 18, SRH will have the advantage of having the better NRR. Stay tuned for live updates