UPT20: Kashi Rudras pull off two-wicket victory against Noida Super Kings

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)[India], September 15 : Kashi Rudras pulled off a thrilling heist in a low-scoring encounter to defeat the Noida Super Kings with two wickets to spare at the ongoing UPT20.
Electing to field first, the Kashi Rudras ran through the Noida Super Kings’ batting unit largely due to the spin duo of Suvrat Prasad Tiwari (4/17) and Shashank Awasthi (2/9).
While Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (39*) provided a late innings special with the bat, the Noida Super Kings finished with a paltry total of 112/9. Despite a stuttered start for the Kashi Rudras, captain Prince Yadav (46*) steered them home to a last-over victory, with two wickets to spare. With this result, the final four places have been sealed on the points table. Noida Super Kings will face Kashi Rudras in the first semifinal while Meerut Mavericks will face Lucknow Falcons in the second semifinal on Friday.
Asked to bat first, the Noida Super Kings’ innings descended into chaos early as the debutant off-spinner Suvrat Prasad Tiwari obliterated Noida’s top order, picking up the wicket of Captain Samarth Singh (0) in the first over, followed by Nitish Rana (13) and Tarun Pawadia (0) in the third over. Atal Bihari Rai also retained his stellar form, scalping Rahul Raj (3) to leave Noida Super Kings in a world of trouble at 33/4 by the end of the powerplay. Soon after Almas Shaukat (18) was run out after a mix-up with Aditya Sharma and Arjun Bharadwaj also found himself run out in the 12th over. Suvrat Tiwari made it four for the night when he outfoxed Prashant Veer (0).
While Aditya Sharma (21) toiled for his runs, he perished in the 14th over off the bowling of Shashank Awasthi to bring the scoreline to 69/8. Saurabh Kumar (2) had minimal impact but Bhuvneshwar Kumar, however, stunned the Kashi bowling attack with an essential cameo of 39 runs in just 23 balls, including 20 runs in the final over to complete a 34-run partnership with Naman Tiwari (1) placing Noida at 112/9.
In response the Kashi Rudras were pushed on the back foot early on, a combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s experience and a swinging pitch made him unplayable, leading to the dismissals of Siddharth Chaudhary (1) and Sachin Singh (1) while Saurabh Kumar also scalped the in-form Karan Sharma (7) to leave the Kashi Rudras in a world of trouble at 19/3 by the end of the powerplay. Shivam Bansal (11) and Kamal Khan (16) got together to provide a semblance of stability to the innings, constructing a 30-run partnership before both batsmen fell prey to Prashant Veer to bring the Kashi Rudras to 45/5 in 11.2 overs.
 In the 13th over, Abishek Yadav (2) became Prashant Veer’s third wicket on the night while Naman Tiwari castled Boby Yadav in the 14th over.
At the 15-over mark, the Kashi Rudras needed 53 runs with Prince Yadav (46*) and Shashank Awasthi (18) at the crease. The pair went on to complete a 54-run match-winning partnership that included 35 runs in the 17th and 18th over. Though Shashank Awasthi departed after a brilliant knock of 18 runs in just eight deliveries, Prince Yadav remained unbeaten to guide the Kashi Rudras home with two wickets in hand, in 19.2 overs.
Brief Scores: Noida Super Kings: 112/9 in 20 overs (Bhuvneshwar Kumar 39*, Aditya Sharma 21, Nitish Rana 13, Suvrat Prasad Tiwari 4/17, Shashank Awasthi 2/9, Atal Bihari Rai 1/17) vs Kashi Rudras: 115/8 in 19.2 overs (Prince Yadav 46*, Shashank Awasthi 18, Kamil Khan 16, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/11, Prashant Veer 3/16, Saurabh Kumar 1/20).