Nitish Reddy played an instrumental role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) nerve-wracking two-run victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday (April 9).
Invited to bat first, the visitors were reeling at 64/4 in the 10th over. Amid the pressure situation, Reddy stepped up and crafted a crucial innings of 64 runs from just 37 balls (4 fours and 5 sixes) to propel SRH to a highly competitive 182/9 in 20 overs.
During the chase, Nitish bowled a slower bouncer to get the prized scalp of Jitesh Sharma when the PBKS needed 69 runs off the last 28 balls.
After the win, Player-of-the-Match Nitish Reddy thanked skipper Pat Cummins for letting him follow his heart while bowling.
“I was always confident of my bowling. The wicket I picked was crucial; I told Pat that I wanted to bowl a slower bouncer. He said ‘It’s not that necessary, you can try to hit hard lengths’. Next I said to Pat that I was confident of the slower bouncer. He said, ‘If you are so confident, then go’. He gave me a free hand, and it worked well,” he said in a video on IPL’s official website.
Reflecting on his knock, Nitish remarked: “To be honest, even I felt that it was difficult to play them. Arshdeep (Singh) was bowling the outswingers well and that time, I backed myself to have self-belief, otherwise I was not going to make it. I needed to play out the fast bowlers and then attack the spinners.”
Nitish Reddy also thanked teammate Abdul Samad for giving him confidence to go for his shots. They forged a 50-run stand for the sixth wicket after the Sunrisers were reduced to 100/5 in 13.1 overs.
“When Brar came into the attack, I thought I had to take him down, otherwise we are not going to get the total we wanted. When I was planning to score quick runs, it was the time he (Samad) came. It’s not easy for batters to attack all bowlers. He gave me a little confidence. He came and played some good shots down the ground,” Nitish stated.
It was SRH’s third victory in five games this season. They are currently holding the fifth spot in the team standings.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday (April 15).
