Sangakkara claims that "panic" lost Rajasthan a spot in the final.

 Sangakkara claims that "panic" lost Rajasthan a spot in the final.

In their Indian Premier League second qualifier at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 24, 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad's wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen observes as Dhruv Jurel of the Rajasthan Royals reacts after being hit by the ball. Image: AFP Team director Kumar Sangakkara stated late on Friday that although Rajasthan Royals had a "great season," they were not able to go to the Indian Premier League final due to a "little bit of panic" from Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the second and final qualifier on Friday, Trent Boult spearheaded Rajasthan's attack by delivering three early strikes that helped limit Hyderabad to 175-9 in Chennai. However, the first-time champions Rajasthan, whose lone championship from 2008—won by the late Australian great Shane Warne—failed to sustain their momentum and ended on 139-7. A squad that spent the majority of the season in the top two spots in the standings saw a dismal conclusion as they finished third after four straight losses. During the playoffs, they eliminated Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but they were defeated by Hyderabad by 36 runs. Hyderabad will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the championship game on Sunday. Sangakkara, a former captain of Sri Lanka, attributed their loss to "losing wickets in clusters". "Wicket turned a little bit probably, but I think a little bit of panic and not building enough partnerships past that first wicket." This season, Rajasthan, captained by Sanju Samson, won eight of their first nine games but lost the last five, with one match being a washout. Sangakkara, though, maintained that his team had a "great season". "All we can do is put ourselves in positions of play-offs and vying for finals, which we did," he stated to reporters. "All the guys, throughout the season played really phenomenal cricket." Jos Buttler, who opened the game for Rajasthan, was absent since he and other England players went home before the playoffs to play for their country in the T20 World Cup in June. With two century under his belt, Buttler was a formidable opponent in Rajasthan's chases. However, his substitute In the game that determined whether to win or lose on Friday, Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored ten points after "We always say that the best ability is availability and unfortunately we lost Jos," Sangakkara remarked. "Without a doubt, his loss is significant. We anticipate the other batters to step up as well in a playoff game like this when Jos is out of the lineup."