IPL 2023: Abdul Samad finally living up to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s expectations

JAIPUR: On the eve of the match against Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram was praising Abdul Samad saying a match-winning performance is just round the corner for him.
“I really think Samad is an incredible player, to be honest. He is the perfect T20 player and has got lots of X Factor and is good in the back-end overs. I know from his point of view he might have wanted to win us a game or two by now, but from our point of view it’s about backing a player like that.He’s got proper big hitting ability. We need to give him that confidence that we believe in him,” said Markram.

And on Sunday, Samad finally lived up to his potential by slamming a six to lead SRH to a thrilling four-wicket victory on the last ball of the match. A blistering cameo under pressure from Samad, who smashed 17 off just 7 balls, powered SRH past the finish line in a dramatic fashion. When four runs were needed on the last ball, the 21-year-old Samad hammered a Sandeep Sharma’s full-length delivery over the long-on fence to shatter the hopes of the home team.
It was a much-needed relief for Samad, who had a few good knocks to his credit in the ongoing IPL but just couldn’t take his side to victory. In the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad, Samad was caught at the boundary ropes when everyone expected he would take his side to home in the last over.
Despite not being able to finish the games, Markram always supported him and believed in his ability to deliver when it mattered the most.
“I certainly really back him. I think he’s a great talent and, in this day, and age in T20 cricket and how people play, I think he plays the perfect way,” said Markram about his young teammate.

Samad provided a perfect finish with a last-ball six in a drama-filled last over from Sandeep as former champions SRH chased a huge target of 215 to keep their hopes alive in IPL.
When Samad entered the ground against RR, the equation was quite stiff, and the home team supporters had already started celebrating the win. However, Glenn Phillips (25 off 7) and Samad took on the RR bowlers and pulled off a spectacular win.
Batting coach of SRH Hemang Badani was overjoyed with the way Samad ended the game and opined he will be a different player from now on.
“This win will give a lot of belief to guys like Samad as we would have felt he missed out on a couple of times and to have done it here, the next time he will bat differently in a similar situation,” said Badani.

The former Indian left-hander batter Badani also revealed Samad was gutted after the loss to KKR.
“I must give full marks to Samad. He was the first one to come up to me after the last game and said, ‘I should have finished the game’. He took ownership of it. He didn’t finish well and was unhappy about it. He was thinking that ‘I am a retained player and I want to show the team that I am worth its time and investment,’” said Badani.
As a batting coach, Badani has spent a lot of time with Samad in the nets for improvement in his game. Many cricket experts believe Samad has matured a lot and looks a lot better than earlier editions of the IPL.
“A few sides have tried doing certain things against him and we have worked on that. One of them did come off this evening. His confidence will be quite high, and I am sure he will guide our team to many more wins in the future. He certainly has that potential to excel in this shortest format of the game,” added Badani.
Philips, who changed the course of the match with three successive sixes and a four off Kuldip Yadav in the penultimate over, also lauded Samad’s effort in pressure-cooker situations.
“I felt I left a lot out there with 17 needed off the final over, but then Samad did what he did and obviously, we got that little bit of luck with the no ball,” said Phillips.