Kanpur, September 12: The Kanpur Superstars defeated the Gorakhpur Lions by a score of 37 runs to wrap up their UPT20 campaign. Sameer Rizvi’s masterful performance, which saw him strike his second century and the fastest of the competition (in just 47 balls), helped Kanpur earn its third victory of the season.
In the second innings, Kanpur’s spinners outsmarted the Gorakhpur Lions by continuously finding wickets with Kartikeya Yadava (2/22) and Jasmer Dhankar (2/37) to defend their score. Since Kashi Rudras, Noida Super Kings, Meerut Mavericks, and Lucknow Falcons have already advanced to the semifinals, the outcome is entirely consoling for the Kanpur Superstars.
The Kanpur Superstars appeared keen to end their season on a positive note after choosing to bat first. The Gorakhpur bowling team was hammered by the openers Rahul Rajpal (33) and Adarsh Singh (23) to end the powerplay with an impressive total of 59/1. However, Kanpur Superstars’ opening pair both fell to Sparsh Jain in short succession, leaving them at 61/2 after 6.5 overs. At number three, Sameer Rizvi (104), who was trying to get his eye in, formed a solid partnership with Sandeep Tomar (15) that lasted for 36 runs before Tomar was dismissed by Shivam Sharma in the eleventh over.
With Sameer Rizvi and Ansh Yadav (28) on the crease after 15 overs, Kanpur had scored 128 runs for the cost of three wickets. Kanpur scored an incredible 84 runs in the final five overs thanks to Sameer Rizvi’s blitzkrieg in the death overs. With three sixes from Vijay Kumar, Sameer Rizvi launched the attack and reached his half-century in the 16th over.
After hitting nine sixers and eight fours, Rizvi eventually reached a historic milestone in the 20th over when he reached his second tournament century, which he accomplished in just 47 balls, before being bowled out by Abdul Rehman. Ansh Yadav also contributed significantly to Kanpur’s finish with a tremendous total of 212/4.
The Gorakhpur Lions replied strongly, scoring 62 runs in the powerplay between openers Dhruv Jurel (29) and Siddharth Yadav (50). Jasmer Dhankar of Kanpur made a crucial breakthrough by getting rid of Jurel in the seventh over. As soon as Siddharth Yadav reached his half-century in the ninth over, with the score at 85/2, Dhankar took his second wicket.
Abhishek Goswami (41) appeared to be in excellent form as he used his feet to negate the turn, but Sameer Chaudhary (12) was defeated by Kartikeya Yadav following a quick 34-run partnership. The Gorakhpur Lions were at 142/3 after 15 overs and required 71 runs in 30 balls. Yashovardhan Singh (12), who was trying to get over the boundary, became Kartikeya Yadav’s second victim of the evening in the 16th over while only giving up one run. Goswami persevered, but the goal proved to be too much, and in the 19th over Vineet Panwar eventually scalped him. At 175/7 in 20 overs, the Lions greatly underperformed because to their hesitant effort in the remaining few overs.
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Short Scores
By 37 runs, the Kanpur Superstars triumphed.
Kanpur Superstars scored 212/4 runs in 20 overs (Sameer Rizvi scored 104 runs in 49 balls, Rahul Rajpal scored 33 runs in 25 balls, Ansh Yadav scored 28 runs in 19 balls, Sparsh Jain took two wickets, Shivam Sharma made 15 of the runs, and Abdul Rehman made 14 of the runs).
Gorakhpur Lions: 175/7 in 20 overs (Siddharth Yadav: 50 runs off of 27 balls; Abishek Goswami: 41 runs off of 37 balls; Dhruv Jurel: 29 runs off of 20 balls; Kartikeya Yadav: 2/22; Jasmer Dhankar: 2/37; Vineet Panwar: 1/24)
India
