Kanpur, September 4, 2023: The Kanpur Superstars defeated the Gorakhpur Lions by 19 runs to earn their second victory of the current UPT20. With the assistance of Ansh Yadav (48), Sandeep Tomar (49*), and captain Akshdeep Nath (53), Kanpur was able to reach 185/4 thanks to their combined efforts. Vineet Panwar (2/26) maintained his strong performance in the second innings, and Kanpur also claimed two more wickets thanks to Jasmer Dhankar.
The Kanpur Superstars, who were given the opportunity to bat first, lost Saurabh Dubey (20) early to Abdul Rahman, but only after he had helped Kanpur score 46 runs during the powerplay by smashing four boundaries. Abdul Rahman then went on to take the crucial wicket of the in-form Sameer Rizvi (5), while Ansh Yadav (48) built his innings. Ansh Yadav joined captain Akshdeep Nath (53) and the two added 33 runs in 33 balls before Sparsh removed Ansh Yadav with just two runs needed to reach his half century.
Kanpur was way below a par total when Sandeep Tomar (49*) came out to bat with the score at 91/3 after 12.4 overs. Nath and Tomar, though, completely changed the course of events with an explosive partnership of 71 runs in 37 balls. In the 19th over, Abdul Rahman rejoined the fray to pick up Akshdeep Nath just as he reached his fifty-first run. Sandeep Tomar scored 17 of the 23 runs in the fourth over of the inning for Kanpur’s 185/4 final score.
Gorakhpur lost Ankit Rathi (4) in response as early as the fifth over, but captain Abhishek Goswami (41) frequently hit the center of the plate to help Gorakhpur end the powerplay at 46/1. Goswami’s innings were over when Jasmer Dhankar scalped him in the ninth over. The Lions were at 70/3 in 12 overs when Yashovardhan Singh (16) was shortly after sent back to the pavilion by Jasmer Dhankar.
While Sameer Chaudhary was run out in the fifteenth over, Siddharth Yadav (82*) helped to relieve the pressure by hitting numerous boundaries, including two consecutive sixes from Jasmer Dhankar in the fourteenth over. The target proved impossible to reach, with the Lions requiring 79 runs off of the final 30 balls. Siddharth Yadav continued to play superbly, reaching his fifty in just thirty deliveries and even hitting three sixes in the penultimate over, but the Gorakhpur Lions fell 19 runs short of their goal, finishing at 166/6, and were defeated.
Short Scores
By 19 runs, Kanpur Superstars won.
Kanpur Superstars score 185/4 in 20 overs (Akshdeep Nath scores 53 runs off 35 balls, Sandeep Tomar scores 49 runs off 24 balls, Ansh Yadav scores 48 runs off 39 balls, Abdul Rahman takes 3 for 22, and Sparsh Jain takes 1 for 22).
Gorakhpur Lions score 166/6 in 20 overs (Siddharth Yadav scores 82* runs off of 41 balls, Abhishek Goswami scores 41 runs off of 31 balls, Yashovardhan Singh scores 16 runs off of 23 balls, Vineet Panwar takes two wickets, Jasmer Dhankar takes two wickets, and Prashant Choudhary takes one wicket).
India
