IPL 2026: It's the match-winning performance I was waiting for a long time, says Nitish Kumar Reddy

Sunrisers Hyderabad`s Nitish Kumar Reddy plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, West Bengal. Pic/PTI

Nitish Kumar Reddy, who played a key role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's 65-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders, said he had been waiting for such a performance for a long time after his all-round show helped his side register their first win of the IPL season here on Thursday.

Heinrich Klaasen (52) and Reddy (39) provided the late charge as SRH posted a challenging 226 for 8. Reddy (2/17) also chipped in with the ball as KKR were bowled out for 161 in 16 overs. "It's the match-winning performance I was waiting for a long time. Thankfully it came at the right time, and even my bowling, it's given me confidence. Just trying to be positive," Nitish said at the post match presentation. "There have been too many negative thoughts in my mind because the last season didn't go my way and I couldn't bowl last season.

"I've worked really hard on my bowling and it's paying off, and that really makes you feel happy and I am happy now. Thanks to the trainers and physios, my body is fully fit now." Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Ishan Kishan lauded the team effort but said fielding remains an area of concern. "Not happy with the way I played but really happy the team was committed. Everyone was putting in the energy they put that I asked for. I don't think the pitch was that good to be honest. "Head and Abhishek played a beautiful knock out there. The powerplay made the game easy for us because every batter got time to take singles and get a feel of the pitch. Great effort from them and Klaassy at the end. Team effort.

"We all know Finn is dangerous but Harsh just bowled that ball and we were lucky to get that wicket." On Harsh Dubey and Shivang Kumar, Kishan said: "Harsh has been doing well for his domestic team and keeping his nerves down and keeping calm in tough situations. "I would like to talk about Shivang. Coming here, small ground. But his hard work paid off. He was in touch with all the coaches and trying to understand what works. You saw him bowl with big heart against someone like Rinku."

On areas of improvement, Kishan said: "I think we are getting to know about the areas with each game. Fielding is an area. We can't give 20 runs in extras. We'll work on it as a team." KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said his team failed to build partnerships and hinted at a possible change in combination. "Yeah I thought we needed a couple of big partnerships. Guys who were set needed to take it deep. With the ball I thought we came back really well. In batting, when you are chasing a target, you need that partnership but we didn't get that. Second innings, I felt the ball was slightly stopping. Slower balls were gripping a lot more than first innings," he said.

"We thought the wicket would get better but it got slower. But not making excuses. SRH did good use of the slower balls and the angles they used were really good. "Winning home games is really important so we have to go back to the drawing room and think about our combination, if we need an extra batter. But we don't need to think too much. Just one bad day."

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