Jio UPT20: Noida Super Kings stick to winning ways, defeat Kanpur Superstars with eight wickets in hand 

Kanpur: 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 Jio 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. 

Brief Scores  

Kanpur Superstars: 165/7 in 20 overs (Sandeep Tomar – 40 runs in 20 balls, Sameer Rizvi – 37 runs in 23 balls, Ansh Yadav – 32 runs in 32 balls, Akshdeep Nath – 31 runs in 30 balls, Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 3/25, Kishan Singh – 2/29, Kunal Tyagi – 1/33, Naman Tiwari – 1/43) 

Noida Super Kings: 166/2 in 19 overs (Nitish Rana - 86* runs in 42 balls, Almas Shaukat – 55 runs in 45 balls, Samarth Singh – 18 runs in 16 balls, Rishabh Rajput – 1/22, Vineet Panwar – 1/48)