"Old Beast Rahul Tripathi is back" - Fans react to former KKR star's display for SRH in IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 clash 

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Rahul Tripathi turned it up against his former franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in Qualifier 1 of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The right-handed batter scored 55 runs off 35 balls at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 21.

Tripathi came into bat inside the first over itself after opening batter Travis Head was dismissed by Mitchell Starc. The right-handed batter got a minor reprieve as Sunil Narine missed a catch in the formative stages of his innings. He was spared once again when KKR opted not to take a review when Mitchell Starc had trapped him LBW with a seething yorker.

He had to mix caution with aggression with wickets falling around him, but still managed to maximise the powerplay to an extent. The former KKR batter got a reliable partner with Heinrich Klaasen in the middle overs when he reached his half-century.

However, he could not inflict further damage as he was run out in an unfortunate manner courtesy of Andre Russell's brilliance in the 14th over.

Fans reacted to Rahul Tripathi's display under pressure on social media. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

"The intent machine," one fan remarked.

"Ex knight Rahul Tripathi dunking on KKR after drs fumble," one tweet read.

Rahul tripathi doesn't gets as much recognition as he deserves," another tweet read.

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Rahul Tripathi last scored a half-century in the IPL 2023 season

The right-handed batter was reduced to the bench after playing the 2024 season opener against KKR and the away clash against PBKS. He had to wait for over a month for his next appearance, where he impressed with a brisk 33-run knock in the successful mammoth run chase against PBKS at home.

Tripathi has not had a memorable season and even faced a hard time for the majority of the previous season. His last fifty in the IPL came on April 9, 2023, at home against PBKS.

Tripathi's dismissal has worsened SRH's crisis in the first innings. Following his run out, SRH were forced to deploy the impact sub in the batting department itself by sending out Sanvir Singh. However, he was dismissed for a golden duck by Sunil Narine.

As of writing, SRH are struggling at 125/8 after 15 overs, with Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the crease.