The best of the best bowlers in the world still get nervous when they are asked to bowl against Mahendra Singh Dhoni, particularly in the death overs of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
And when you are playing only your second game and your captain asks you to bowl the last over of the match then you obviously come under tremendous pressure.
However, Abdul Samad didn’t panic and bowled a wonderful over to help Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch a thrilling seven-run victory against Chennai Super Kings in the Dream11 IPL match at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.
Eighteen-year-old Abdul Samad, who was playing his second IPL match, successfully defended 28 runs which Chennai Super Kings needed to score to pull off a tense win.
Samad, who is a second year BPE student of Sharirik Shikshan Mahavidyalaya, Koradi, around 20 kms from Nagpur, did a fine job with his quickish leg-spinners to stop mighty CSK in their strides.
Dhoni, who is capable of scoring those big runs in the death overs of IPL, tried hard but couldn’t hit big sixes against Samad, who represents Jammu and Kashmir team in the Ranji Trophy.
Later in the post-match press conference, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner revealed why he chose Abdul Samad for the final over.
Warner was pleased after Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a second consecutive win in the IPL. SRH edged out Chennai Super Kings by seven runs.
SRH was in a fix after key bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered an injury setback in the penultimate over, which forced Warner to use Abdul Samad in the final over with CSK needing 28 to win.
“I backed him Samad. I had no option. We tried to kill the game in the 19th over. I could have given it to Abhishek Sharma, but Samad with his height had to bowl the last one,†said Warner.
Samad’s parents, who watched the match on TV at their Jammu home, were worried as Samad bowled the last over.
“When we saw the ball in the hands of Samad as he was marking his run-up, we quickly realised that he was going to bowl the last over. We never expected he would be getting the last over when the match was tantalisingly poised. Our hearts were in our mouths at that moment and praying for him,†said Mohammad Farooq, father of Samad.
Farooq, who was also a decent cricketer and used to bowl medium-pace during his school and college days, was proud of his son.
“Samad was cool and composed while bowling against Dhoni and Sam Curran. We had seen in the earlier matches that bowlers were carted all over and matches turning upside down in just one over. Kieron Pollard, Rahul Tewatia and others have smashed around 30 runs in an over. We were in tension but now we are proud of him,†added the 54-year-old Farooq.
Courtesy:Â orangecitysports.com