Rahul Tripathi was devastated after a terrible mix-up with Abdul Samad resulted in his dismissal during the crucial first Qualifier between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Tripathi had been batting superbly, notching a fifty amid a rare SRH batting collapse, but poor communication led to a disastrous run-out, prematurely ending an innings that could have impacted the match’s outcome.
Tripathi left the scene devastated and, in a heartbreaking moment, sat alone on the staircase with his head buried. Samad was equally remorseful, knowing the situation could have unfolded differently.
Tripathi had tapped the ball wide of the point fielder, but Andre Russell quickly grabbed it and sent a bullet throw to the keeper. Samad took off, and Tripathi initially responded but then realized the run wasn’t feasible and stopped midway.
Although Samad reached the non-striker’s crease, SRH suffered their biggest setback of the evening. Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating, was unimpressed with Samad and placed the blame entirely on him.
“Totally Samad’s fault. Tripathi was backing up alright. There was no run in it. The ball was stopped. Unnecessary wicket… at the wrong time for Sunrisers,” he said.
The sight of a despondent Tripathi was aptly described by Gavaskar’s commentary partner, Ian Bishop, who remarked, “I don’t think I have ever seen that sort of posture openly from a dismissed batsman. He had just cleared the boundary before.”
And he was right. Tripathi had looked exceptional during his 55-run knock, which included seven fours and a six. He was striking the ball well at a rate of 157.14 before the mishap occurred.
Watch the run out and Tripathi’s reaction here:
https://x.com/NihariVsKorma/status/1792947069038051347
The Sunrisers faced a harsh reality check as their formidable opening duo, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, known as ‘Travishek,’ were dismissed within the Powerplay.
Mitchell Starc struck first, bowling out his fellow Australian, Head, for a second consecutive duck in IPL 2024 at the same venue where he shattered many hearts six months earlier. In the following over, Vaibhav Arora took the wicket of the dangerous Abhishek, leaving SRH at 13/2 within two overs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their innings with a total of 159
It could have been 21/3, but Starc and KKR chose not to review when Shreyas Iyer and the umpires overlooked a yorker hitting Tripathi’s boots. This fortunate break was what SRH needed, allowing Tripathi to score a vital half-century off 29 balls to keep the scoreboard moving.
Meanwhile, wickets continued to fall with Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed getting out cheaply, but Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen managed to add 62 runs for the fifth wicket. Once both set batters were dismissed, SRH faced a collapse, being reduced to 126/9 in the 16th over.
However, a rearguard effort by captain Pat Cummins, who scored 30 off 24 balls with two fours and two sixes, added some respectability to the total. SRH eventually finished with 159 all out in 19.3 overs, with the last-wicket partnership of 33 being the second-highest of the innings.
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