In a format tailor-made for swashbucklers, Uttar Pradesh’s Samarth Singh personifies calmness.
Stiff target? No problem. Opening partner dismissed? No problem. Suresh Raina gone? No problem. And just like that, he constructed a beautiful 65 not out (47b, 5x4, 3x6) as Uttar Pradesh defeated defending champions Gujarat to register its second consecutive win in the Super League (Group ‘B’) of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy here on Saturday. Raina’s team have a healthy net run-rate and, unless it suffers a very heavy defeat against Delhi on Monday, it is expected to make the final.
>Gujarat v UP: Full scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Earlier, Praveen Kumar (4-0-32-0) rolled back the years to remove openers Priyank Panchal and Parthiv Patel (both for eight runs) as Uttar Pradesh posted 165 for six.
Delhi beats Jharkhand
Delhi got its campaign back on track with a five-wicket win over Jharkhand in the first match of the day. Chasing 135, Nitish Rana underlined his hitting prowess by smashing a 44-ball 60 not out (9x4, 1x6) as Delhi made up for Friday’s loss against Gujarat. Varun Aaron (4-0-27-3) breathed fire in his opening spell to reduce Delhi to 14 for three. Skipper Gautam Gambhir (6, 10b, 1x4) was one of his victims.
>Jharkhand v Delhi: Full scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Earlier, opener Virat Singh (45, 44b, 3x4, 1x6) and Ishank Jaggi (42, 29b, 6x4) helped Jharkhand post 134 for three. Parvinder Awana (4-0-28-3) and Manan Sharma (3-0-28-2) were the pick of the bowlers.
Brief scores:
Gujarat 165 for six in 20 overs (Manpreet Juneja 54, Chirag Gandhi 41 not out; Praveen Kumar two for 32) lost to Uttar Pradesh 167 for three in 19 overs (Samarth Singh 65 not out, Umang Sharma 38, Eklavya Dwivedi 33; Rush Kalaria two for 19)
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