Mullanpur, April 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy etched his name in history books with a match-winning performance against the Punjab Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Nitish starred in all facets of the game and clinched a unique record during SRH's 2-run win over PBKS on Tuesday.
With the bat, he struck a magnificent 64 in just 37 deliveries, and with the ball, he dismissed Jitesh Sharma and took Prabhsimran Singh's catch as well.
With his sensational performance, he 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.
After the victory, Nitish expressed his delight over his performance and decoded the approach that he adopted during his blitz with the bat.
"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. 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," he said.
"The whole tournament, they are bowling slow bouncers and it's really working. I also used the dimensions to get the wicket. I just want to continue this performance with the bat or ball or with the fielding, I just want to be like this," he added.
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.