Kanpur, September 8, 2023: Noida Super Kings won the current UPT20 League in Kanpur by seven wickets after showcasing outstanding collaboration to chase down a daunting 183-run mark. With the victory, Noida increased their lead at the top of the points standings to 12 points from 7 games, while Gorakhpur Lions remained at the bottom with just 2 points from the same number of games.
Speaking about the game, after being selected to bat first, Gorakhpur Lions openers Dhruv Jurel and Abhishek Goswami gave their team a flying start, scoring 50 runs in the first five overs. By alternating THE strike and launching goals at regular intervals, the pair maintained the scoreboard’s ticking. Before Samarth Singh, who was positioned at deep point, made a spectacular forward diving catch to send Goswami back to the pavilion off Saurabh Kumar’s delivery, they put up a partnership of 93 runs in just 9 overs for the first wicket.
as scoring the game’s opening run, Noida Super Kings turned their attention to stopping the flow of runs as Jurel helped Gorakhpur Lions cross the 100-run threshold in just 11 overs. Jurel reached his half-century in just 26 balls. Noida tried desperately to stop Gorakhpur’s run-flow, but Jurel continued slamming the bowlers all over the field, making it impossible for them to do so.
Meanwhile, Siddharth Sarvan Yadav of Noida Super King was dismissed by bowler Naman Tiwari, who also claimed the second wicket of the game. Yadav had scored 19 runs in as many balls before giving an easy catch to Almas Shaukat at deep mid-wicket while attempting to smash a maximum. Additionally, incoming hitter Sameer Choudhary (1) didn’t stay on the crease for too long before Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped him in front of the stumps.
The momentum changed in favor of Noida Super Kings with the loss of two fast wickets, and Naman Tiwari took advantage of it by dismissing set batters Jurel (who left after reaching 85 off 48 balls) and Shivam Sharma (0) in the 18th over.
To assist the Gorakhpur Lions reach 182/6 in the allotted 20 overs, Yashovardhan Singh hit an unbeaten 19 off 9 balls, while Rishav Rai added 11 off 7.
Opening batsmen Samarth Singh and Almas Shaukat gave Noida Super Kings a strong start as they crossed the 70-run mark in the first eight overs of their innings while keeping all of their wickets in tact while chasing the difficult 183-run target. Shaukat for 46 and half-centurion Samarth Singh were quickly taken out of the game by Abdul Rehman, who then gave Gorakhpur Lions a chance to retake the lead.
Noida Super Kings ran into problems after losing their openers since the flow of runs slowed down. With only five overs left, Noida needed 61 runs to win. They were further concerned when captain Nitish Rana, who had only scored 14 runs, was bowled over by Vijay Kumar in the 16th over.
Aditya Sharma (46*) and Prashant Veer (25*), two fresh batters on the crease, hit boundaries right away and helped Noida Super Kings win the match. On the very last ball of the game, Noida reached the finish line thanks to the pair’s unbroken 62-run partnership.
Short Scores
By seven wickets, Noida Super Kings prevailed.
Gorakhpur Lions: 182/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jorel: 85 runs off of 49 balls; Abhishek Goswami: 44 runs off of 30 balls; Siddharth Sarvan Yadav: 19 runs off of 19 balls; Yashovardhan Singh: 19 runs off of 9 balls; Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 1/34; Naman Tiwari: 3/31; Saurabh Kumar: 1/37)
Noida Super Kings scored 185/3 runs in 20 overs (Almas Shaukat scored 46 runs in 30 balls, Samarth Singh scored 50 runs in 40 balls, Nitish Rana scored 14 runs in 8 balls, Aditya Sharma scored 46* in 27 balls, Prashant Veer scored 25* in 17 balls, Abdul Rehman took two wickets, and Vijay Kumar took one wicket).
India
