Akshdeep and Co almost in Super League
LUCKNOW : Sparkling half centuries by skipper Akshdeep Nath and Samarth Singh and a fivewicket haul by Saurabh Kumar helped former champions Uttar Pradesh crush Uttarakhand by 118 runs to stay on top of the Group E with 20 points in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy in New Delhi on Thursday.
With this win last season’s semi-finalist Uttar Pradesh have almost made it to the Super League, starting March 8 at Indore. Now, they play their last league match against Baroda on March 2.
With a change in plan, Akshdeep chose to open the innings with Samarth Singh and it really worked well as the two stitched together 123-run for the first wicket. A solid start helped Uttar Pradesh pile up 209/6 in 20 overs after being sent in to bat first. Both Akshdeep and Samarth didn’t care much about Uttarakhand’s bowling attack and went on hammering fine half centuries. Whereas Akshdeep took just 44 balls to score 70, which contained 10 fours and a six, Samarth struck 48-ball 75 with the help of seven fours and three sixes, at the Airforce Complex Ground (Palam II). This was his third half-century in as many as six matches so far.
Akshdeep was trapped leg before wicket by Rajat Bhatia, whereas Samarth was bowled by Sunny, but it didn’t make a difference to Uttar Pradesh batsmen, who kept the scoreboard ticking on a consummate pace. Though former skipper Suresh Raina failed with willow again, scoring just five before being caught by Rajat Bhatia off Sunny, Priyam Garg (15, 6b, 2x4, 1x6) and Rinku Singh (28, 11b, 3x4, 2x6) helped Uttar Pradesh cross 200-run mark at the end.
Uttarakhand never had the start, which they really wanted to have during the run chase. After losing opener Rajat Bhatia (2) in the second over as he was caught by Saurabh Kumar off lanky seamer Yash Dayal, they kept losing wickets on regular intervals before being bundled out at paltry 91 in 16.3 overs.
Saurabh Rawat (30, 22b, 4x4) and opener Karanveer Kaushal (22, 15b, 3x6) though tried well for the side, to no avail as Uttar Pradesh bowlers, especially left-arm orthodox spinners Saurabh Kumar and Ankit Choudhary made things difficult and let them reeling at 3/16 once. Saurabh, who had 50 wickets in Ranji Trophy this season, finished with his first-five wicket haul in the format with 5/28, whereas while playing his debut season Ankit took 3/9. Yash bagged 2/11.
BRIEF SCORES Uttar Pradesh 209/6 in 20
overs (A Nath 70, S Singh 75, R Singh 28, Sunny 2/45) beat Uttarakhand 91 in 16.3 overs
(S Rawat 30, K Kaushal 22, S Kumar 5/28, A Choudhary 3/9, Y Dayal 2/11).
ALMOST OVER!
It seems almost over for Uttar Pradesh in the Under-23 Men’s One-day League as they lost to Mumbai by six wickets, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.
Chasing 230 in 50 overs Mumbai after having a solid start, romped home in 39 overs, losing just four wickets. Suved Parkar (36, 41b, 6x4), Jay Bista (98, 79b, 17x4) and Atharva Vinod Ankolekar (45, 55b, 3x4) made things easy for the winners. Only Mohd Saif (2/40) and Purnank Tyagi (2/57) could impress the Mumbai batsmen. Earlier, UP could make 229/9 while batting first after winning the toss. Abhishek Yadav top scored with 72, which came off 87 balls with the help of four fours and two sixes. Purnank Tyagi (38, 61b, 2x4), Karan Sharma (44, 50b, 7x4, 1x6) and Mohd Saif (22, 32b, 1x4) were the other main run getters. Sairaj B Patil took 3/36, whereas Kruthik Hanagavadi and Atharva Vinod Ankolekar took two wickets each. Uttar Pradesh, which currently ranked at eighth spot in would play their last league match against Vidarbha on March 2.