Jaipur: On the eve of the match against Raj Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram praised Abdul Samad, saying a match-winning performance was just around the corner for him. “I really think Samad is an incredible player. 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. On Sunday, Samad finally lived up to his potential by slamming a six to lead SRH to a thrilling four-wicket win off the last ball of the match. A blistering cameo under pressure from Samad, who smashed 17 off just seven balls, powered SRH past the finish line in dramatic fashion. With four needed off the last ball, the 21-year-old hammered a Sandeep Sharma 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. 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. In this day and age in T20 cricket, I think he plays the perfect way,” said Markram. Hemang Badani, SRH’s batting coach, was overjoyed with the way Samad ended the game. “This win will give a lot of belief to guys like Samad as we would have felt he missed out a couple of times. The next time he will bat differently in a similar situation,” said Badani. The former India player 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. “A few sides have tried doing certain things against him and we have worked on that side of his game,” said Badani.
