Bhuneshwar-Kumar (Image source: UPT 20)
K Anpur, 30 August 2023: Noida Super Kings UPT 20 League on a historic day for Uttar Pradesh cricket . Noida Super Kings thrashed Kanpur Superstars by 16 runs in a thrilling contest at the Green Park International Stadium. This crucial win was led by a stunning knock by Samarth Singh (91) and an economical display of bowling prowess by veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/16).
Opting to bat first, Noida Super Kings started the tournament with an explosive powerplay. The opening pair of Almas Shaukat (21) and Samarth Singh (91) put on 47 runs in just five overs, before Almas Shaukat took the first wicket of the tournament, a precise bouncer from Ankit Rajput while Samarth Singh became the first half-century of the tournament, in 40 balls, runs Dry to medium over.
Kanpur skillfully deployed their spin bowlers to take successive wickets, J Dhankar dismissed Shantanu (7) Prashant Veer (1) scalped Noida skipper Nitish Rana Vivek did well to restrict Noida Super Kings to Kanpur Super s tars 105/4 at the end of 15 overs. Noida regained momentum in the death overs as the well-steady Samarth Singh unleashed a flurry of strokes towards the death overs, racing to 58 off just 91 balls before being dismissed in the final over.
He was joined by Osho Mohan (23*) and Sourav Khan (12) before the finishing touch went to Aqib Khan, who hit two consecutive sixes in the last ODI of the innings . Noida Super Kings finished at 169/6 in 20 overs
North Kanpur Super S Tars had a warm start, Kanpur were placed at 42/1 at the end of the powerplay. Youngster Adarsh Singh (16) lost his wicket in the fifth over as impact player Naman Tiwary was dismissed by P Veer soon after Ansh Yadav (0) in the eighth over.
Opener Rahul Rajpal was looking in fine form, smashing seven boundaries for his 37 in the ninth over before being cleared by Sourav Kumar as Nitish Rana found his first wicket of the campaign, when he sent back Sandeep Tomar (7) cheaply. At the end of 13 overs, Kanpur Superstars were in hot water at 92/4 as Sameer Rizvi (41) and captain Akshdeep Nath (32) combined to weave a crucial partnership of just 17 off 36 .
Sameer Rizvi’s composed but quick knock ended in the 16th over when he was bowled by the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar r . Needing 40 runs in four overs in Kanpur, the match was evenly poised however, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a brilliant last over, only three runs and picking up the all-important Akshdeep Nath’s wicket, to ensure Noida won the first match of the UPT20 by 16 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the Noida bowling unit with figures of 2/16.
Short score
Noida Super Kings: 169/6 in 20 overs (Samarth Singh-58 runs from 91 balls, Osho Mohan-23* runs from 18 balls, Almas Shaukat – 17 runs from 21 balls, J Dhankar – 2/30, Aquib Khan-2/ 49, Vivek-1/22, Ankit Rajput-1/34)
Kanpur Superstars: 153/8 (Sameer Rizvi – 41 runs off 22 balls, Rahul Rajpal – 37 runs off 32 balls, Akshdeep Nath-21 runs off 32 balls, Bhubaneswar Kumar-2/16, Nitish Rana-1/7, Prashant Veer -1/14, Naman Tiwary – 1/23, Saurabh Kumar 1/33)
