Kanpur: Sameer Rizvi smashed an unbeaten 91 off just 39 balls as Kanpur Superstars registered a convincing eight-wicket victory over Noida Kings in the UP T20 League at Green Park on Saturday night. The win kept Kanpur’s playoff hopes firmly alive, while Noida suffered their second consecutive defeat.After heavy rain delayed the match, the game was reduced to a 12-overs-a-side contest. Asked to bat first, Noida Kings posted 128 for six in their allotted 12 overs. Kanpur Superstars chased down the revised target of 129 in 10.4 overs, losing two wickets.Kanpur suffered an early setback when captain Adarsh Singh was bowled by Kunal Tyagi in the very first over without opening his account. Priyanshu Pandey also departed cheaply after scoring six.With Kanpur in trouble, Rizvi walked in and took charge of the chase. He launched a fierce assault on the Noida bowlers, finding excellent support from Abhishek Pandey. The pair took Kanpur home with eight deliveries to spare.Rizvi’s unbeaten 91 came off 39 balls and included 11 boundaries and five sixes. Abhishek Pandey remained unbeaten on 30 off 17 balls as the duo completed the chase in 10.4 overs.Earlier, Noida Kings made a blistering start, with Shoaib Siddiqui scoring 20 off 10 balls and Madhav Kaushik smashing 31 off just 11 deliveries.Noida raced to 45 without loss in 2.2 overs before Kanpur’s Yashovardhan Singh changed the complexion of the innings.Yashovardhan produced an outstanding spell, claiming three wickets for just 10 runs, including a maiden over, to reduce Noida to 69 for five. Skipper Prashant Veer then played a crucial unbeaten knock of 50 off 27 balls to lift Noida to 128 for six.Rizvi was named Player of the Match.
