IPL 2020 in UAE: Hitting Nortje for six gave me confidence, says Abdul Samad

Dubai: Abdul Samad, who became the third player from Jammu & Kashmir to play in the IPL, showed in a limited opportunity for Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday that he has got the heart to do well in the pressurecooker atmposphere of the league.

Batting first, Sunrisers had posted a total of 162/4 in 20 overs against Delhi Daredevils at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner had put on an opening stand of 77 runs. Warner played a knock of 45 runs while Bairstow played an innings of 53 runs.

Kane Williamson also chipped in with a knock of 41 runs to take SRH’s total past the 160-run mark. Samad remained unbeaten on Hyderabad as he played an innings of 12 runs and he also managed to hit one six off the bowling of Anrich Nortje.

“Yeah, I felt really good playing my first match in the IPL. I also hit a big six off the bowling of Anrich Nortje, it gave me confidence that I will be able to do good in the coming games. People back home have a lot of expectations from me, I hope to do well,” Samad told teammate Rashid Khan in a video posted on iplt20.com.

The two players from his state, now declared as an Union Territory, who have played at least one match in the IPL before him were Parveez Rasool and Rasikh Salam.

“Before coming out to bat, the team management had told me to express myself and to play the way I normally do. I started hitting from the first ball, I missed one-two balls, but the six I was able to hit, I got a lot of confidence from that,” he added.

The 18-year-old Samad had made his first class, List A and T20 debut for Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Delhi Capitals was chasing 162, but they were restricted to just 147/7 as Rashid Khan returned with the figures of 3-14 from his quota of four overs. Rashid took the wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan.

“Initially, when I bowled my first ball and I was able to get turn, so I realised the ball is turning and I also summarised that the ball is turning more when I am bowling it quicker. I tried bowling in just the right areas and was looking to bowl dot balls to create pressure on the Delhi batsmen,” Rashid told Samad during a post mortem after the game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Chennai Super Kings on October 2 while Delhi Capitals will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on October 3.