UPT20: Noida Super Kings stick to winning ways, beat Kanpur Superstars

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)[India], September 7 : Noida Super Kings secured a dominant fifth victory of their campaign as they defeated the Kanpur Superstars with eight wickets in hand at the ongoing UPT20 in Kanpur.
Bowling first, the Noida Super Kings restricted the Kanpur Superstars to 165/7, riding on the back of a stellar spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/25). The run chase was then stewarded by an unbeaten half-century from Nitish Rana (86*) and a key contribution from Almas Shaukat (55).
Asked to bat first, the Kanpur Superstars lost Saurabh Dubey (0) to the experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar as early as the first over. Ansh Yadav (32) and Sameer Rizvi batted well to help Kanpur finish the powerplay at 48/1. Sameer Rizvi (37) dominated the 52-run partnership, striking seven fours and a six before he was cleaned up by the pace of Kunal Tyagi in the seventh over, leaving the score at 53-2.
The loss of Rizvi severely curtailed the flow of runs as Skipper Akshdeep Nath (31) descended upon the crease to join Ansh Yadav as both batsmen moved at a run-a-ball rate. Looking to accelerate, Ansh Yadav perished in the 14th over to Kishan Singh, just as Kanpur crossed the 100-run mark, followed by Naman Tiwari’s sharp inswinger trapping Akshdeep Nath in the 16th over, with the score reading 112-4.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s second spell of the day began conceding just a single run in the over and picking Pranjal Saini (6) in his final over he picked Prashant Choudhary to finish with figures of 3/25. However, Sandeep Tomar once again displayed his penchant for big finishes, registering 40 runs in just 20 balls, before he was dismissed on the final ball of the innings. The Kanpur Superstars finished at 165/7.

The second innings saw the Noida Super Kings start positively as by the end of the powerplay they had scored 51 runs for the loss of Samarth Singh (18), who was trapped LBW in front the of stumps by Vineet Panwar.
The left-handed pair of Almas Shaukat (55) and captain Nitish Rana (86*) came together to build a match-winning partnership of 89 runs in only 65 balls. Nitish Rana showed restraint early in his innings but launched an offensive once settled, he smashed Ansh Yadav for 20 runs in the 13th over including two sixes and two fours.
Rana brought up his half-century in 30 balls, while opener Almas Shaukat crossed the milestone in 39 deliveries. Eventually, Almas’ innings came to an end as he was dismissed by Rishabh Rajput in the 16th over leaving Noida firmly in the driver’s seat at 132/2.
With Abishek Sharma coming out to bat, Rishab Rajput bowled a terrific 17th over giving away only three runs to make the equation mildly challenging at 18 runs needed in 12 balls but the experienced Nitish Rana finished proceeding in the very next over to take Noida Super Kings home with eight wickets remaining.
Brief Scores: Kanpur Superstars: 165/7 in 20 overs (Sandeep Tomar 40, Sameer Rizvi 37, Ansh Yadav 32, Akshdeep Nath 31, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/25, Kishan Singh 2/29, Kunal Tyagi 1/33, Naman Tiwari 1/43) vs Noida Super Kings: 166/2 in 19 overs (Nitish Rana 86*, Almas Shaukat 55, Samarth Singh 18, Rishabh Rajput 1/22, Vineet Panwar 1/48).