Sunrisers Hyderabad's young all-round sensation Nitish Kumar Reddy showcased his batting potential on Tuesday (April 9) as he took on the Punjab Kings bowlers at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh and helped his side claim its first away win of IPL (Indian Premier League) 2024.
Nitish was promoted up the order at No. four and repaid the trust of his skipper Pat Cummins and the team management as he waged a lone battle amid the fall of wickets at the other end and helped Sunrisers post 182 runs on the board.
Nitish came into bat in the fourth over of the game and tried to steady himself. The right-handed batter displayed a praiseworthy aplomb and struck boundaries when the opportunity presented itself. He reached his maiden IPL fifty on the 32nd ball of his innings and in grand style.
The Andhra cricketer launched left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar over wide long-on for a maximum and proved that the move to promote him in the batting order was the right one. He scored 64 off 37 balls with the help of four fours and five sixes and batted at a strike rate of 172.97.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins heaped praise on the youngster and appreciated him for his all-round heroics in the field of play.
"He was awesome, fantastic debut last week. Straight to the top for the order, fantastic in the field, bowled three overs too. To get us to 180 off his bat, it was amazing," Cummins said during the post-match presentation.
In addition to his batting show, Nitish did his bowling credentials a world of good too as he helped his team see the back of the dangerous-looking Jitesh Sharma. Jitesh, the vice-captain of Punjab Kings was batting on 19 off 10 balls and could have run away with the game, however, a slower bouncer from Nitish outdid him and helped SRH to get a strong grip on the game.
