(MENAFN- IANS) Lucknow, Sep 11 (IANS) Meerut Mavericks sealed their passage through to the final of the UPT20 League Season 2 with a nine-runs victory over Lucknow Falcons in the Qualifier 1 at the BRSABV Ekana cricket Stadium.
In the crucial encounter, Lucknow chose to bowl first and kept Meerut to 153 for four. In a run-chase that saw Lucknow maintain their chances, Meerut's spinners helped them edge back into the game – particularly in the slog overs and snatched victory with great performance.
On the big day, the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar was song yet again for Lucknow. His first spell was incisive and helped Lucknow dismiss Meerut's openers. He bowled three overs upfront and conceded 17 runs for the two wickets. In the first over, Akshaye Dubey started off with a boundary off the fifth ball but then inside-edged the last ball onto his stumps.
The third over then saw a good contest between Swastik Chikara, the current Orange Cap Holder, and Bhuvneshwar. Bhuvneshwar went past the bat a couple of times and Chikara found the boundary once. However, off the last ball of the over, Chikara edged it to the wicketkeeper. At 14 for two after three, Meerut captain Madhav Kaushik walked in to steady the innings.
The intent shown by the batters in the remaining three overs of the powerplay was good as they amassed 28 more runs. Kaushik got off to a confident start with two fours off Abhinandan Singh in the last over of the powerplay. Uvais Ahmed too started steadily at the other end. The 43-run partnership helped Meerut recover following those early losses. However, in the ninth over, AkshuBajwa broke through for Lucknow when Uvais tried to go over long-on but did not time it. Sameer Choudhary ran in and took a good catch diving forward.
Then came the partnership that took Meerut to their eventual score. Rituraj Sharma joined Kaushik in the middle and in tandem they added 96 runs. It was an important partnership that started off slowly but gradually picked up pace as the innings progressed. Rituraj was the more aggressive of the two batters – smashing four sixes and two fours during his innings. While Kaushik too got a fifty, he played a more steady hand and shifted momentum in the slog overs.
Rituraj was particularly severe on the spinners. Three out of his four sixes came off Vipraj Nigam – Lucknow's most successful bowler this year. Out of those, two sixes came off consecutive deliveries in the 18th over. Meerut's batters did well to keep the Lucknow spinners at bay – considering the fact that they had the upper hand during the two teams' last encounter in the group stage.
Heading into the final over of the innings, both batters were getting close to their respective milestones. While Kaushik got there with a single, Rituraj smashed one through long-on for four to seal his fifty. Off the last ball, Kaushik went over extra cover – where Bajwa put in a brilliant effort to deny Meerut a six. The return throw led to the run-out of Rituraj.
Meerut began their defence very well – conceding only one boundary – hit by Samarth Singh. Vijay Kumar was the pick of the bowlers in that phase, conceding only 12 runs in his three overs and getting the dangerous Samarth out bowled in the third over.
The boundary drought ultimately broke in the eighth over when Harsh Tyagi hit Yash Garg for a four. The first six of the innings came in the 10th over when Priyam Garg hit one over mid-wicket off Yash. After 10 overs, Lucknow were 55 for one – needing 99 in the second half of their innings.
Lucknow upped the ante soon after but they also lost wickets to dent their progress. Garg took on the responsibility of increasing the scoring rate. Meerut delivered a double blow in the space of an over when Tyagi was bowled for 21 off Vishal Choudhary. Kritargya Kumar Singh followed soon after when he was dismissed leg-before by Rituraj.
Garg though looked strong and determined to take his team home. In the 15th over, he picked Zeeshan Ansari for three fours – with the reverse sweeps standing out twice. Getting past his fifty, he was steaming ahead until he holed out to mid-wicket in the same over.
Parv Singh, who had started off his innings with a six down the ground, continued to bat with mojo after Garg's dismissal and kept them in the hunt with some aggressive shots. He holed out to deep extra-cover on 25 with his team still needing 26 off 13. Zeeshan had a tough day to begin with but made up for it in his last over – the penultimate one of the match - which featured a run-out and a wicket for him.
Needing 16 off the last over, Sameer Chaudhary faced Yash Garg. He hit the first ball straight to long-off and was caught. Bhuvneshwar attempted a similar shot and found the man at the same spot. Kishan edged the first ball through third-man for four but that was the last spark for Lucknow before their innings ended with a run-out.
Brief Scores: Meerut Mavericks 153 for 4 in 20 overs (Madhav Kaushik 52 not out, Rituraj Sharma 54; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-22, Akshu Bajwa 1-24) beat Lucknow Falcons 144 all out in 19.5 overs (Priyam Garg 56; Vijay Kumar 2-23, Yash Garg 2-34, Zeeshan Ansari 2-41) by nine runs.
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