Kanpur, September 13, 2023: The Gorakhpur Lions defeated the Kashi Rudras by an 18-run margin in the current UPT20 match at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium. When Gorakhpur Lions were asked to bat first, openers Dhruv Jurel (90) and Abhishek Goswami (64), together with the rest of the team, helped the team reach a staggering total of 201/4.
As the Kashi Rudras’ designated impact player in the second innings, Karan Sharma (80) put up a threatening performance, but Abdul Rahman’s three wickets helped make the aim unattainable that night. Gorakhpur Lions don’t care about the outcome because Lucknow Falcons, Meerut Mavericks, Noida Super Kings, and Kashi Rudras have already advanced to the semifinals.
Dhruv Jurel (90) and Abhishek Goswami (64) led the Gorakhpur Lions, who were given the opportunity to bat first, in a ferocious powerplay of 70 runs. In just 28 balls, Dhruv Jurel reached his half-century with nine fours and a six, while Goswami reached the mark in 32 deliveries. The Lions held a commanding lead of 105-0 at the 10-over point. Abishek Goswami was finally bowled by Shiva Singh in the 13th over, ending the 137-run stand.
The score was 165/3 after 15.5 overs as Jurel continued to smash boundaries. Siddharth Yadav, who was the next man out, was bowled by Deepanshu Yadav for 7, and Jurel was caught short of a century once more. The Kashi Rudras did well to contain the Gorakhpur Lions, who only managed 35 runs in the final four overs to finish at 201/4 despite Shivam Sharma (19) hitting three consecutive boundaries in the 19th over as well as contributions from Anshuman Pandey (12*) and Vivek Kumar (6*).
The Kashi Rudras began their defence brilliantly. Before Aranav Baliyan was out on the final ball of the powerplay, Karan Sharma (80) and Aranav Baliyan (10), who had a 56-run partnership, had scored the majority of the runs. Sachin Bisen (9) made a brief contribution before being removed by Shivam Sharma as Karan Sharma led the Rudras closer to their goal with a 39-run partnership with Shivam Bansal.
With the score at 125/3, Abdul Rahman caught Karan Sharma after his magnificent innings, which included eight fours and four sixes. Kashi Rudras needed 68 runs in the final five overs at the 15-over mark with Captain Prince Yadav (30) at the crease. The Gorakhpur Lions’ slim chance of winning was diminished when Siddhanth Mishra (3) was dismissed by Abdul Rehman in the 18th over after Shivam Bansal (25) was the next man to be removed by Vivek Kumar in the 17th over. The Gorakhpur Lions lost the game by 18 runs after scoring 183/7 in the end.
Quick Scores
victory by 18 runs for the Gorakhpur Lions.
Gorakhpur Lions: 201/4 (Dhruv Jurel: 90 runs off of 49 balls; Abhishek Goswami: 64 runs off of 39 balls; Shivam Sharma: 19 runs off of 12 balls; Deepanshu Yadav: 2/43; Shiva Singh: -1/20; Mirza Shahbaz: 1/52).
Kashi Rudras: 183/7 (Karan Sharma: 80 runs off of 45 balls; Prince Yadav: 30 runs off of 18 balls; Shivam Bansal: 26 runs off of 25 balls; Abdul Rehman: 3/39; Shivam Sharma: 128 runs off of 28 balls; Vijay Kumar: 1/30)
India
