"It was an absolute no-brainer that Hetmyer had to go in" - Tom Moody slams RR's 'massive tactical blunder' after IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 loss to SRH 

Former Australian cricketer and head coach Tom Moody was baffled that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) did not send in left-hander Shimron Hetmyer to negate the effect of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) left-arm spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma. He feels Hetmyer should have walked out to bat at No. 5 after RR lost Riyan Parag in the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 on Friday, May 24.

Moody shed light on how spin bowling was one of the weak links in the SRH bowling attack and feels RR allowed Pat Cummins and company to dominate proceedings by feeding their left-arm spinners with right-handers.

Moody told ESPNcricinfo after the game:

"It was an absolute no-brainer that Hetmyer had to go in, ahead of Dhruv Jurel, who even if he played nicely, he would have still played nicely when he would have got his opportunity. They needed to negate the two left-arm spinners right at the outset. That was the hole that SunRisers had in their attack. Massive tactical blunder."

Moody opined that the Royals should have gotten ahead of the game by sending Shimron Hetmyer early and asking him to play his natural game if he got the ball in his arc. Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer echoed Moody's opinion on Hetmyer's entry point.

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RR allowed SRH to see if the pitch would turn: Mitchell McClenaghan

Former New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan believes had RR not sent another right-hander after Shahbaz Ahmed began his spell, the presence of a left-hander may have probably refrained Cummins from getting in Abhishek Sharma and bowling the duo in tandem.

"They allowed them (SRH) to see whether the pitch was going to turn. Because Shahbaz came in and then got one to turn and then Abhishek came in and did the same. They should have taken it away," McClenaghan stated.

From 65/1, RR collapsed to 92/6 while chasing 176 as Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) effectively ended Sanju Samson and company's hopes of making it to the IPL 2024 final.

SRH will now face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final on Sunday, May 26.