20-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy announced himself as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s next big star with a blazing match-winning knock against Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. The Andhra all-rounder’s explosive batting proved he is ready for the big leagues.
Nitish Kumar Reddy Announces Himself as the Next Big Thing
In a dream Indian Premier League debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, 20-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy played a magnificent match-winning knock of 64 off just 37 balls against Punjab Kings. The Andhra Pradesh all-rounder, who had scored a quadruple century in age-group cricket, showed he is ready for the big stage.
Reddy’s explosive innings helped prop up Sunrisers’ total to 182/6 after they were struggling at 64/4 in the 10th over. Coming in inside the powerplay, Reddy initially showed patience, scoring 14 off his first 18 balls. But he then cut loose, blasting 50 runs off his next 19 deliveries with an array of scintillating stroke play.
The youngster specifically took on Punjab’s spin bowlers, clobbering left-armer Harpreet Brar for 37 runs in just 2 overs. This included a massive 91-meter six over cow corner that brought up Reddy’s maiden IPL fifty. His onslaught left even Brar’s superb economy rate of 5.69 this season in tatters.
What did Nitish Kumar Reddy Say Post Match?
“For me it’s like a big contribution for my team and for myself. I have been telling myself that I should believe in myself,” said Reddy after being named Player of the Match. “The seamers were bowling really well, I didn’t want to take on them. I knew that the spinners would come and I wanted to attack them, I just did that.”
Reddy’s dynamic hitting was the difference on the night as the established stars from both teams failed to fire. His 20-ball 50-run stand with Abdul Samad (25 off 12) to finish the innings also showed his ability to shift gears at will in the match against Punjab
While a century went begging when he mistimed a full toss in the 17th over, Reddy had already played a defining hand to earn Sunrisers a crucial win. From being a net bowler at Chennai Super Kings not long ago, the prodigious talent has quickly marked his arrival.
After an unlucky IPL debut season in 2023 where he didn’t get to bat, Reddy made the most of his chance this year by following the advice to move up the order. His rapid scoring as a floater in the middle order gives Sunrisers an additional option with the bat.
With his ability to also contribute with the ball, Nitish Kumar Reddy has shown he possesses that rare skill of being a genuinely strong all-round cricketer. If he can continue his dream start, Sunrisers may have unearthed their next superstar in the making.
Talking about his bowling performance he said “I just want to continue this performance with the bat or ball or with the fielding, I just want to be like this.” Making him the youngest cricketer in IPL to score a half century and take a wicket in the same match.
What are the Netizans saying about Nitish Kumar Reddy
This out standing performance suddenly attracted the entire India into knowing about him. After the match many fans praised him. One the twitter user was found saying “𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐢 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐛 𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐚 ” (Punjab in sorrow due to a blow from Telugu guy). Whereas the others complimented him saying “Nitish Kumar Reddy Can Bat like this and bowl some medium pace BCCI need to invest on him”. Many of the fans started calling him the next superstar for sunrisers hyderabad by saying “TAKE A BOW, NITISH KUMAR REDDY. 64 in just 37 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes – the 20 year old boy from Andhra Pradesh stepped up for SRH tonight, he’s the future of this team.“
He Can Bat , He Can Bowl and He Can Field 🤞
Nitish Kumar Reddy 🔥 #Sunrisers pic.twitter.com/wE20Efa03Z
— Nanii!! (@narasimha_chow2) April 9, 2024
