Abdul Samad’s quickfire knock against DC impresses Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh and Tom Moody

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowed out of the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) after a heartbreaking loss against Delhi Capitals (DC) by 17 runs in Qualifier 2 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Though the Orange Army failed to reach the final of the T20 extravaganza, they had a great run with the youngsters stepping up and leading the team in tough scenarios.

After losing the toss, David Warner’s side was sent to bowl first. It was a bad day at the office for the SRH bowlers as they failed to restrict the flow of runs and a few misfields worsened the situation. The Capitals managed to put up a par score of 189 in Abu Dhabi in their 20 overs on the back of a stunning half-century by Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 50).

Chasing 190, the Orange Army received their first hiccup in the second over by Kagiso Rabada who managed to take the prized wicket of opposition skipper David Warner. After 12 overs, the team was in trouble as they were reeling at 90 for four.

However, the young Abdul Samad came to the crease to support Kane Williamson and the two collected a 57-run stand in five overs. Though the fearless hitter Samad failed to get his team across the line as he lost his wicket to Rabada in the 19th over, he impressed one and all with his quickfire knock of 33 runs of 16 deliveries.

Abdul Samad impresses Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan
The Jammu and Kashmir rookie gave a glimpse of his brilliant batting skills by smashing the pace duo of Rabada and Anrich Nortje for sixes. Being impressed by the 19-year-old’s heroics, the former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan took to his official Instagram handle to shower praises on Samad.

“Yes he should have won the game for @SunRisers but really proud of #abdulsamad for showing character and power game,” tweeted the former seamer.

The former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also agreed with Irfan and he chimed in saying “#samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future.”

Yes he should have won the game for @SunRisers but really proud of #abdulsamad for showing character and power game. #1stseasonofipl

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 8, 2020

Interestingly, Irfan was the first one to spot Samad during a cricket trial two years ago. Being impressed with Samad’s abilities, Irfan promoted him to the senior squad for T20s and List-A matches. Pathan took the youngster under his wings and trained him ahead of the Indian Premier League. Samad played 12 matches for SRH this season, scoring 111 runs at an average of 22.20 and a strike rate of 170.76

#samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) November 9, 2020

#samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) November 9, 2020