Vizag ‘SunRiser’, Nitish Kumar Reddy, shines in IPL match

Nitish Kumar Reddy of Visakhapatnam, an all-rounder in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team, was the cynosure of all eyes at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium as he played superb innings in the IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), held in Mullanpur on Tuesday night.

At a time when the star batsmen of the team collapsed, Nitish came to the rescue of the team by scoring a quick 64 in just 37 balls, hitting five sixes and four fours. The big score made by the Vizag-born Nitish helped SRH score 182 for 9. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the match by just two runs in the nail-biting finish.

Bought for Rs. 20 lakh by SRH in the IPL auction, the 20-year-old Nitish has been performing well. In the fight against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) too, he ended the match by hitting the winning ball to the fence.

Son of the former Hindustan Zinc Limited employee, Mutyala Reddy, the all-rounder made his debut in 2020 and played for Andhra in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. He was selected for twenty-20  (T20) in 2021 and played for Andhra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Interested in the game since childhood, Nitish used to take part in the cricket camps very frequently and later got coaching from experts.
Encouraged by his father, the boy honed his skills in the game and one day his talent was spotted by well-known cricketer MSK Prasad. The cricketer got Nitish trained in the ACA Academy. The boy’s cricket career took a bright turn when his record show in the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy brought him the BCCI award in the  under-16 category.

Since then, the journey has gone on, and today, the IPL platform gives him an opportunity to showcase his all-round skills.

Despite only being his 9th T20 match and fourth IPL appearance in 2024, Nitish Kumar Reddy, stepped up, delivering a commendable performance to save the day.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu.