Hyderabad: Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made an outstanding 42-ball 76 not out for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in securing a thrilling one-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2024, said this year, the team management gave him a chance to be in the playing eleven, an opportunity he never wanted to throw away.
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday evening, Reddy dazzled by hitting three fours and eight sixes in what is also his highest T20 knock, with some of his maximums hit straight down the ground and over cover enthralling the home fans.
"I would say I’m a genuine all-rounder who can bowl, who can bat, who can field as well. So, I’m looking forward to the all-round performance. I was waiting for this batting opportunity actually from last year. This year the team management gave me a chance and I don’t want to throw it away," he said in the post-match press conference.
Reflecting on his role in the SRH middle-order, Reddy said, "From the last two matches, it has been like this. My role is to carry until the 14th or 13th over to give Heinrich Klaasen a license to bang. So there is no point if Klaasen and Samad get to bat in the early overs; they can’t score freely.
"I just wanted to make sure that I am not going to feel the pressure. I just want to build the innings like I did against Punjab and plan to attack one over and change the momentum. That’s exactly what happened when I saw (Yuzvendra) Chahal coming on to bowl.
"I was backing myself that I have to go after him (in the 14th over) and that went pretty well (by taking 21 runs off him). Beating Royals, who are at the top of the table, will actually boost the team morale," he said.
Reddy also revealed the SRH think-tank had the belief in veteran fast-bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulling off a win for them by defending 12 runs in the final over. "See, T20 is all about changing the momentum. So, we actually believed that somehow we will take one or two wickets which we got of the well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag.
"When he (Bhuvneshwar) was in prime time, he used to do these things like pulling up these matches. Even if we lost, we would have been happy even if we had lost the match, because we played well against a good side and took the match to the last ball. So, we are happy to be on the winning side," he concluded.