Images from the IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Mohali on Tuesday.
Young Nitish Reddy showed tremendous character during a vital 37-ball 64 as Sunrisers Hyderabad scored a two-run victory over Punjab Kings, surviving a daring attack by Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma in a see-sawing IPL match in Mohali on Tuesday.
Sent in to bat, the 20-year-old Reddy lifted the Sunrisers to 182 for 9 after Punjab Kings had the visitors reeling at 66 for 4 in the 10th over.
Punjab Kings were halted in a late charge at 180 for 6.
They wouldn't have gone that far had it not been for a whirlwind 66-run partnership between the heroes of their last match, Shashank (46 not out off 25 balls) and Ashutosh (33 not out off 15 balls).
Needing 29 runs in the last over, bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, SRH dropped three catches as Shashank and Ashutosh came within touching distance of pulling off another stunning win.
The Visakhapatnam-born Reddy, who started out as a batter at age group level before blossoming into a pace-bowling all-rounder, struck five sixes and fours fours during his unbeaten knock.
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh (4 for 29) was the standout bowler for PBKS, but SRH still eventually finished with a total that looked improbable at one stage.
Abdul Samad chipped in with a 12-ball 25 before Jaydev Unadkat ended the SRH innings with a last ball six.
In reply, the hosts were off to a disastrous start as they lost three wickets with only 20 runs on the board, one of them being captain Shikhar Dhawan (14 off 16 balls) who was stumped brilliantly by Heinrich Klaasen despite standing up to seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/32).
The run-rate pressure got to Dhawan after the early dismissals of his opening partner, Jonny Bairstow, and Prabhsimran Singh.
Bairstow was bowled by SRH skipper Pat Cummins (1/22) for a three-ball duck after he looked to play across the line, while Prabhsimran (4) was sent back by Bhuvneshwar after the batter got a leading edge while trying to work the ball on the leg side.
Sam Curran was dismissed for a 22-ball 29 by T Natarajan (1/33) thanks to a stunning catch by Cummins at mid-off.
Earlier, thanks to Reddy's 37-ball 64, Sunrisers Hyderabad were able to put up a fighting total.
Samad chipped in with a 12-ball 25 before Unadkat ended the SRH innings with a last-ball six.
The match got underway on an eventful note as Travis Head (21 off 15 balls) would have been out first ball after a clear edge. But the opener must thank Kagiso Rabada for prolonging his stay in the middle as the South African lead pacer, having opened up Head completely, was not sure if he had indeed induced an edge.
Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma went up straightaway but Rabada did not join his colleague loudly enough in the appeal, and the batter got a reprieve as PBKS refused to take a review.
Replays showed a clear edge, and it was strange on Rabada's part as he was smashed for three successive boundaries by Head for 16 runs in the third over.
Head got a thick edge for a four, got the second boundary through the off-side, and then played one on the rise through mid-on for his third straight four off Rabada.
Despite living a charmed life, Head failed to capitalize, as PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan ran back, kept his eyes on the ball and completed an excellent catch, which was followed by his trademark thigh-slap celebration.
It was a big breakthrough for PBKS and their captain was delighted; so was bowler Arshdeep Singh, the beneficiary of Dhawan's judgement and athleticism.
Two balls later, Aiden Markram was walking back to the dugout for a duck after edging an away-going Arshdeep delivery to Jitesh.
Abhishek Sharma, having just hit Sam Curran for a lovely six and a four, fell to the English all-rounder's next ball after coming down the wicket in search of another big one. He mistimed, and Shashank Singh held on to a good catch to leave SRH in a spot of bother at 39 for 3 in the fifth over.
The powerplay yielded only 40 runs for the loss of three wickets as PBKS dominated the visitors, forcing SRH to alter their plans and send Rahul Tripathi as the impact sub. Tripathi replaced Head.
Tripathi (11 off 14 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (9 in 9 balls) failed to get going, leaving SRH tottering at 100 for 5 in the beginning of the 14th over.
The onus was then on Reddy to bail the team out, and the youngster did that with aplomb. He picked 22 runs off a Harpreet Brar over to lift his side, while adding 50 runs in quick time with Samad.
