Monitor News Desk
Qualifier 2 of the ongoing IPL 2020 edition saw Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals (DC) take on the 2016 winners David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Abu Dhabi Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
With a chance to seal a spot in the IPL final, DC went past SRH by 17 runs to book their first-ever IPL final berth in the tournament history.
Batting first, Iyer & Co. were ahead courtesy Marcus Stoinis’ 38 and Shikhar Dhawan’s sublime 78. Thus, DC managed to post 189 for 3 in 20 overs. In reply, SRH lost skipper David Warner early and only Kane Williamson’s 45-ball 67 kept them alive. After his departure, the writing was on the wall.
However, youngster Abdul Samad once again made heads turn with his free-flowing approach and led the charge with a 16-ball 33, laced with 2 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of 206.35, to show his credentials for the next edition of the IPL.
Samad, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, represented SRH in 12 matches and slammed 111 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 170.76. Thus, former Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh spoke highly of him and feels he can surely be the one for the future for Team India.
Yuvraj took to his official Twitter handle and wrote, “#samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future.” Earlier, Irfan Pathan, a mentor of Samad, had also praised the youngster for his attitude and fighting spirit. He wrote, “Yes he should have won the game for @SunRisers but really proud of #abdulsamad for showing character and power game.”
During his IPL debut in the ongoing edition, an emotional Pathan had tweeted, “Another feather added to Jammu & Kashmir’s cricketing fraternity as Abdul Samad is all set to make his ipl debut.I wish him the luck for his long career ahead! I am certain,this will create positive waves in J&K’s younger generations; who will look upto this upcoming Hero! #ipl,” wrote Pathan.
Samad had become the third player from Jammu and Kashmir to play domestic cricket’s biggest extravaganza, i.e. the IPL when he made his debut in SRH’s first league stage encounter versus DC.
