Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], April 10 (ANI): Former India opener Aakash Chopra hailed SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) young uncapped all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy following his brilliant performance against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Nitish struck a magnificent 64 in just 37 deliveries, and with the ball, he dismissed Jitesh Sharma and took Prabhsimran Singh’s catch as well.
“The Hyderabad batting stumbled at the start. It seemed at one stage that even 150 might be difficult. However, Nitish Reddy. He was a net bowler with Chennai till last year…and here also he scored runs and decent runs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“The kid bats well. He has the might. In the first 15 years of this tournament, there were very few Indian finishers. That’s why whoever can finish, his price at the auction goes through the roof. However, now you can see players like Rahul Tewatia, Shivam Dube, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. You can keep Nitish Kumar Reddy also on the same list,” the former India cricketer added.
With his sensational performance, the all-rounder became the first uncapped player in IPL to score 50-plus runs, take a wicket, and bag a catch in an IPL match.
At 20 years and 319 days, he is also the second youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL. Priyam Garg at 19 years and 307 days became the youngest player to score a fifty.
Coming to the match, after losing three wickets in the powerplay, SRH posted a total in excess of 180 thanks to Nitish Reddy’s maiden half-century and some crucial runs scored by Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed.
In the run-chase of 183, PBKS lost wickets frequently and were reduced to 114/6 in 15.3 overs. A remarkable fightback from Shashank Singh (46* in 25 balls, with six fours and a six) and Ashutosh Sharma (33* in 15 balls, with three fours and two sixes) almost sealed a win for Punjab, but they fell short by two runs. (ANI)
