UPT20: Kashi Rudras beat Lucknow Falcons to enter semi-final

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)[India], September 13 : In yet another rain curtailed encounter at the ongoing UPT20, the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur saw the Kashi Rudras register an authoritative 9-wicket victory over the Lucknow Falcons to cement their place in the semifinals.
Despite a well-set platform, the Lucknow Falcons batting unit was derailed by Atal Behari Rai (6/27) who picked up six wickets to register the best figures of the tournament. The second innings was driven by a blistering knock from Kashi’s Karan Sharma (81*), that began cautiously but evolved into a full-blown assault against the Lucknow Falcons bowling attack. The result means the Kashi Rudras will join the Noida Super Kings, Meerut Mavericks and Lucknow Falcons as the four teams to have qualified for the semi-finals.
After the Lucknow Falcons elected to bat first, inclement weather ensured the game would be reduced to 16 over a side. Openers Shaurya Singh (52) and Harsh Tyagi (31) gave the Lucknow Falcons an enviable start. The pair raced to a 50-run partnership in less than five overs. Harsh Tyagi struck two maximums but failed to capitalise on the good start as he was cleaned up by Boby Yadav in the sixth over with the score reading 62-1. Soon after Mohd Amaan (3) and Sudhanshu Sonkar (8) suffered a similar fate at the hands of Boby Yadav. While Sharuya Singh complete his half century comprising five fours and two sixes, his wicket signaled the change in momentum as he was dismissed by Atal Bihari Rai in the 14th over. In the very same over Atal Bihari Rai picked up the wickets of Kritagya Singh (0) and Hardeep Singh (0) leaving Lucknow Falcons at 135/6. As the runs dried up, Atal Behari came back in the final over to pick up three more wickets of Ali Zafar (31), Vipraj Nigam (4) and Kartikeya Jaiswal (0)to complete a stellar six-wicket haul. Despite the late collapse, Lucknow finished their innings with a competitive total of 142/9.
In response, Kashi Rudras’s early pursuit of Lucknow’s total was aided by poor bowling. By the end of the first five overs, Kashi was placed at 46/0 with 13 of those runs coming in the form of extras. The opening partnership was broken when Arnav Baliyan (12) was dismissed by Nadeem in the eighth over. With the score reading 65-1, Shivam Bansal (33) joined opener and impact player Karan Sharma who stamped his authority with a 40-ball half century. In the 12th over, Karan Sharma unleased a ruthless onslaught on Kritagya Singh, striking him for three consecutive sixes and a four to complete a game changing over of 23-runs. Following this the Kashi Rudras needed 30 runs in 24 balls and the pair of Karan Sharma and Shivam swiftly completed the run chase to ensure the Kashi Rudras triumphed with 9 wickets and 13 balls to spare. Karan Sharma registered his highest score of the tournament, striking five fours and seven sixes.
Brief Scores: Lucknow Falcons: 142/9 (Shaurya Singh 52, Ali Zafar 31, Harsh Tyagi 31, Atal Bihari Rai 6/27, Bobby Yadav 3/20) vs Kashi Rudras: 143/1 (Karan Sharma 81*, Shivam Bansal 33, Aranav Baliyan 12, Nadeem 1/22).