NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad narrowly edged out Punjab Kings by two runs, despite a late onslaught from Punjab Kings'
Shashank Singh
and
Ashutosh Sharma
in a thrilling IPL encounter on Tuesday.
Nitish Kumar Reddy
, a talented 20-year-old batting all-rounder, rescued Hyderabad from an early predicament, steering them to a challenging total of 182-9 after they were put in to bat first at Punjab's new home ground in Mullanpur.
Although Punjab seemed to be in dire straits at 114-6, Shashank (46) and Sharma (33) orchestrated an unbeaten partnership worth 66 runs off just 27 balls, causing palpitations for Hyderabad as Punjab finished tantalizingly close at 180/6.
Reddy's scintillating innings of 64 runs off 37 deliveries, embellished with four boundaries and five sixes, earned him the well-deserved Man of the Match award for his pivotal contribution in saving the game for Hyderabad.
"For me, it's like a big contribution for my team and myself. I have been telling myself that I should believe in myself. Seamers were bowling really well, I didn't want to take on them," Reddy said after SRH won the match.
"I knew that the spinners would come and I wanted to attack them, I just did that. The whole tournament, they are bowling slow bouncers and it's really working. I also used the dimensions. I just want to continue to perform for my team," he said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will now take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 15 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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