At the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on September 11, 2023, the Meerut Mavericks defeated the Noida Super Kings by an unusual margin of 42 runs to claim their sixth victory of the ongoing UPT20. In their opening innings, the Meeru Mavericks presented the Noida Super Kings with a difficult total of 176/10, thanks to outstanding innings from Rinku Singh (53) and Madhav Kaushik (50).
The bowling unit from Meerut put out a team effort, taking wickets of Yogendra Doyla (2/25), Vishal Chaudhary (2/23), Yash Garg (3/21), and Yuvraj Yadav (2/26). Both clubs have already qualified for the semi-finals, but as a result of the outcome, Meerut Mavericks and Noida Super Kings are level on points with 13 points after nine games.
The Noida Super Kings asked the Meerut Mavericks to set a goal, and they responded with a lacklustre powerplay. After Swastik Chikara took a break, Meerut lost both of its openers when a cunning Satyam Chauhan sent back Shoaib Siddiqui (#2) and Parth Jain (#17). Together, Rinku Singh (53) and Madhav Kaushik (50) scored 98 runs with many of boundaries to bring the innings to life. Before being bowled by Shiven Malhotra, Rinku Singh had taken Meerut to 125/3 in 12.4 overs after scoring his maiden half-century of the competition in just 31 balls, which included four fours and four sixes.
Rajeev Chaturvedi (3), who was batting at position five, had no influence and was removed by R Dwivedi to send Yash Garg to the crease. Madhav Kaushik was wonderfully caught and bowled by Prashant Veer in the 18th over as he finished his 35-ball half-century. However, the Meerut Mavericks were at 176/6 in 20 overs as Yash Garg and Divyansh Rajput each contributed blazing contributions of 25 runs in 13 deliveries in the final overs.
By the end of six overs, the Noida Super Kings had scored 48 runs in response despite losing an aggressive Manish Solanki (21) to Yuvraj Yadav and Saubhagya (10) to Yash Garg. While Noida fell short of the required run rate, stand-in captain Samarth Singh (45) appeared determined to lead the Noida Super Kings to victory. He and Manu Kashyap (5) formed a 33-run partnership and scored 28 runs before Manu Kashyap was also bowled by Yuvraj Yadav.
They were at 75/4 in 10.1 overs when the dangerous Aditya Sharma (1) was dismissed by Yogendra Doyla for only one run. The 14th over from Vishal Chaudhary saw the dismissals of Prashant Veer (13) and Osho Mohan (2), significantly diminishing Noida’s chances.
Samarth Singh died in the very next over, becoming Doyla’s second victim of the evening. Noida was presented with an impossible task with three wickets remaining, ultimately failing at 134/10 in 17.5 overs. The 22 runs in 12 balls that Tarun Pawadia scored undefeated turned out to be only consoling.
Brief ratings:
By 42 runs, the Meerut Mavericks won.
Meerut Mavericks: 176/6 (Rinku Singh scored 53 runs in 32 balls, Madhav Kaushik scored 50 runs in 36 balls, Yash Garg scored 25 runs in 13 balls, Satyam Chauhan scored two wickets, Prashant Veer scored one wicket, Rohit Dwivedi scored three wickets, and Shiven Malhotra scored one wicket)
Noida Super Kings scored 134/10 in 17.5 overs (Samarth Singh scored 45 runs in 35 balls, Tarun Pawadia scored 22 runs in 12 balls, Yash Garg had three wickets in his possession, Vishal Chaudhary had two, Yogendra Doyla had two, and Yuvraj Yadav had two).
India
