MATCH STORY
Follow UsBefore Qualifier 2, Shahbaz Ahmed was among the worst spin bowlers in the tournament. You cannot blame him. The 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a forgettable event for most spinners. Moreover, Shahbaz has been more of a batting all-rounder in this season.
Batting in 11 innings in IPL 2024, he averaged 25.9 at a strike rate of 130.2. Batting majorly in the lower order, he provided several valuable finishes, like his 18 off 18 balls in Qualifier 2 stretched Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) total to 175. With his left-arm orthodox spin, before the Qualifier 2, he had bowled only 21 overs in 13 innings, picking three wickets. His average was as high as 75 runs per wicket and it's not that he provided any relief in ceasing the runs (economy 10.7).
When SRH ended their innings at 175 on slow-ish pitch in Chennai against Rajasthan Royals (RR), the question was if SRH could stop RR with their non-existent spin bowling resources. SRH had bowled the least overs of spin in the competition with the worst average (54.4) and economy (11.3). In addition, RR had been one of the best batting sides of spin bowling, with Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag dismissed by spin only once before in the entire season.
The task was uphill for SRH. The only spinners in their ranks were Shahbaz, Abhishek Sharma (three overs in the competition before this clash) and Aiden Markram (no bowling before this clash). Shahbaz, being the most experienced among these, had to step up.
When he was handed the ball for the first over of spin bowling from the SRH camp — the eighth over of RR’s chase — Yashasvi Jaiswal was on the mission to pull the asking rate down. After a slow start, the left-hander shifted to the fifth gear, moving from 14 off nine balls to 35 off 18 balls. He added another six to it, reverse-sweeping Shahbaz over the third-man.
Three balls later, Jaiswal charged him for a full-blooded attempt to hit a six over long off. Shahbaz, sensing the intentions, pulled his length back. Jaiswal could only slice it to the fielder.
Three wickets in 21 overs before in this competition and now a big wicket within the first five balls on a big night
Jaiswal’s wicket started RR’s downfall. In the first seven overs, they were 56/1. In the following five overs, bowled by Shahbaz and Abhishek, RR managed only 24/4, losing the key wickets of Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag. The ball gripped and suddenly Shahbaz was turning the ball like a wrist-spinner. So did Abhishek.
In the ninth over, Samson tried to take on Abhishek, sighting an opportunity to take on the young bowler but hit it towards the fielder. In the 12th, Shahbaz sent back Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin while conceding only one run. It pushed RR far back in the chase with Shahbaz’s figures reading 3/14 in three overs at that point.
He finished with 3/23 against his name in four overs. From a bowling average of 75 previously in the tournament to under eight on this night. From an economy of 10.7 earlier to under six to pave SRH’s way to the final. It’s been a turnaround of substantial proportions for the Bengal all-rounder.
The pitch helped Shahbaz but stepping up in a monumental night with all other odds against him, the left-hander showcased he isn’t a bits-and-pieces player. Probably, having another left-arm orthodox spinner (who could bat a bit in the lower order) in the dressing room helped. It was the head coach, Daniel Vettori’s call to use Shahbaz as the Impact Player, as informed by the skipper Pat Cummins in the post-match interview.
Not to forget, SRH traded in Shahbaz from RCB before the season, at the cost of Mayank Dagar.
Both moves have worked wonders in a reinvigorating season for the franchise — taking them from the wooden spoon last year to the final in this edition. And Shahbaz has played an underrated part in it.
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