Kanpur, Sep 4 (IANS) Defending champions Kashi Rudras produced a spirited fighting display in a thrilling UP T20 League Eliminator against Noida Kings, pushing the contest right down to the final ball before going down by just one run.
Chasing 155, Kashi Rudras finished on 153/8, coming agonisingly close to pulling off a remarkable chase.
The Rudras’ chase was anchored by a composed 45 off 33 balls from Abhishek Goswami, who provided the innings with stability and momentum. Shubham Chaubey then kept the challenge alive with a superb unbeaten 43 off just 26 balls, striking three sixes as he took the game deep into the final over.
Earlier, the two-time champions’ bowlers kept Noida Kings in check for large periods, with Sangam Singh returning 2/30 and Kartik Yadav delivering an economical spell of 1/10 from his four overs. Noida eventually reached 154/6, setting up a tense finish.
Captain Karan Sharma led the batting charts with 361 runs, with Abhishek Goswami contributing 286 runs, while Atal Bihari Rai emerged as a key bowling contributor with 15 wickets. Kartik Yadav also impressed with 10 wickets at an exceptional economy of 5.44, while Sangam Singh delivered disciplined spells and crucial breakthroughs throughout the tournament.
Despite the narrow defeat, Kashi Rudras can take plenty of positives from a campaign in which they reached the playoffs and continued to demonstrate their competitive spirit, resilience and quality throughout the tournament.
Rudras had delivered a statement performance in a must-win encounter, defeating the table-topping Meerut Mavericks by 56 runs to make the playoffs.
–IANS
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