This Jay Shah meme went viral during IPL 2024 Qualifier 2

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their place in the final of IPL 2024 after defeating Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in Qualifier 2 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, May 24.

After posting a total of 175/9 thanks to Heinrich Klaasen's valiant innings of 50 off 34 balls, Sunrisers Hyderabad restricted Rajasthan Royals to 139/7 in 20 overs. Shahbaz Ahmed (3/23) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) made excellent use of the spinning track and challenged the RR batters with their spin bowling.

Captain Pat Cummins (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/13) contributed to SRH’s bowling by taking a wicket each.

Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel fought a lonely battle for Rajasthan Royals as his valiant innings of 56 off 35 balls went in vain. Despite being hit on the neck by a ball from Natarajan's bouncer, Jurel fought on bravely.

However, during the second qualifier of IPL 2024 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royal, a meme went viral on social media. The viral image showed the poster of the final of IPL 2024 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, with captain Pat Cummins and Shreyas Iyer on either side. The meme, featuring BCCI secretary Jay Shah, went viral on social media just before the start of the second qualifier in Chennai.

The poster of the IPL 2024 final between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders was widely shared on social media, with netizens showing mixed reactions to the seemingly pre-emptive announcement. Many said the final was staged, while others criticised that the second qualifier was unprofessional.

This is how Internet users reacted

Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the Indian Premier League (IPL) finals for the second time in their history. The last time SRH reached the final was in 2016 when they defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru to win their first IPL trophy under the leadership of David Warner.

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured second place with eight wins and five losses, collecting 17 points from 14 matches. The Pat Cummins-led side lost Qualifier 1 to Kolkata Knight Riders, who qualified directly for the final with a win.