Kanpur: The Gorakhpur Lions triumphed against the Kashi Rudras with an 18-run victory in the ongoing Jio UPT20 at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Asked to bat first, openers Dhruv Jurel (90) and Abishek Goswami (64) gave Gorakhpur Lions a dream platform to help finish with a mammoth total of 201/4. In the second innings, Karan Sharma (80) played threatening innings as the designated impact player for the Kashi Rudras, however, the target proved unconquerable on the night as Abdul Rahman chipped in with three wickets. The result is inconsequential for the Gorakhpur Lions as Kashi Rudras, Noida Super Kings, Meerut Mavericks and Lucknow Falcons have already qualified for the semi-finals.

Invited to bat first, the Gorakhpur Lions had a volcanic powerplay of 70 runs with openers Dhruv Jurel (90) and Abishek Goswami (64) leading the way. Dhruv Jurel struck nine fours and a six to bring up his half century in just 28 balls, while Goswami brought up the milestone in 32 deliveries. At the 10-over mark, the Lions were in a dominant position at 105-0. The 137-run stand was finally broken when Shiva Singh’s straighter one dismissed Abishek Goswami in the 13th over. While Jurel continued with a barrage of boundaries, Siddharth Yadav (7) was the next man to depart, scalped by Deepanshu Yadav, the same over also saw Jurel following short of a century yet again, leaving the score at 165/3 in 15.5 overs. Despite Shivam Sharma (19) striking three consecutive boundaries in the 19th over and Anshuman Pandey (12*) and Vivek Kumar’s (6*) contributions the Kashi Rudras did well to restrict the Gorakhpur Lions, with the latter only managing 35 runs in the final four overs to finish at 201/4 .

In response, the Kashi Rudras started well. A 56-run partnership unfolded between Karan Sharma (80) and Aranav Baliyan (10), with Karan Sharma scoring the lion’s share of the runs before Baliyan was dismissed on the last ball of the powerplay. After a brief contribution Sachin Bisen (9) was scalped by Shivam Sharma as Karan Sharma stewarded the Rudras closer to their target putting on a 39-run stand with Shivam Bansal. Karan Sharma’s wonderful knock that comprised eight fours and four sixes ended when he was picked up by Abdul Rahman in the 14th over with the score reading 125/3. At the 15 over mark Kashi Rudras needed 68 runs in the final five overs with Captain Prince Yadav (30) at the crease. Shivam Bansal (25) was next man to go, falling to Vivek Kumar in the 17th over, followed by Siddhanth Mishra’s (3) dismissal to Abdul Rehman in the 18th over to diminish any flicker of hope for the Gorakhpur Lions. The Gorakhpur Lions finished at 183/7 to lose the match by 18 runs.

Brief Scores

Gorakhpur Lions win by 18 runs

Gorakhpur Lions – 201/4 (Dhruv Jurel – 90 runs in 49 balls, Abishek Goswami – 64 runs in 39 balls, Shivam Sharma – 19 runs in 12 balls, Deepanshu Yadav – 2/43, Shiva Singh –1/20, Mirza Shahbaz – 1/52)

Kashi Rudras – 183/7 (Karan Sharma – 80 runs in 45 balls, Prince Yadav – 30 runs in 18 balls, Shivam Bansal – 26 runs in 25 balls, Abdul Rehman –3/39, Shivam Sharma –1/28, Vijay Kumar –1/30)