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Points table thus far
The Rinku Singh-led Meerut Mavericks is at the top of the points table with five wins in six matches and the best net run rate in the competition. Kashi Rudras, led by UP skipper Karan Sharma, is placed second with eight points.
The remaining teams have four points each with Lucknow Falcons (placed third) and Kanpur Superstars (placed fifth) having played five games as compared to Gorakhpur Lions (placed fourth) and Noida Super Kings (placed last) playing six matches.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs. Meerut and Kashi have one foot in the door already.
Top Performers
Most Runs: Sameer Rizvi (Kanpur Superstars) - 257 runs
Highest Score: Aryan Juyal (Gorakhpur Lions) - 104* (54)
Most wickets: Zeeshan Ansari (Meerut Mavericks) - 14 wickets
Best Figures: Vipraj Nigam (Lucknow Falcons) - 5/19
Big guns?
Sameer Rizvi: The 20-year-old who made his debut for Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) is the leading run-scorer in this competition at present. Rizvi has 258 runs in five innings, averaging 51.6 at a soaring strike rate of 168.6. Barring one innings, he has scored over 30 every time, including 89 (51) vs Lucknow and 87 (50) vs Gorakhpur.
Rinku Singh: The Meerut skipper is among the top five run-scorers in the tournament, with 163 runs in six innings, averaging 54.3 while striking at 177.3. Like in the IPL and India colors, Rinku has majorly batted as a finisher, playing three of his six innings at number six (117 runs with one dismissal striking at 151.9). Rinku has one fifty — 64* (35) against Noida in a winning cause.
Nitish Rana: The Noida skipper is having a poor season by his standards. While his team is placed last on the points table, Rana himself has struggled for runs, scoring only 66 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 97.1. He has batted in the middle-order, from number three to five, but hasn’t been able to find his range.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The most experienced international player in this league, Bhuvi has had a tough time in this league. The right-arm seamer has managed only three wickets in five matches. He averages 43 runs per wicket at an economy of 8.1. He is yet to pick more than one wicket in a match this season. Last year, Bhuvi had 14 wickets at 14.6 runs apiece and an economy under 6.
Dhruv Jurel: The wicketkeeper batter who made his Test debut earlier this year smashed two half-centuries in three appearances for Gorakhpur. He started with 70 (46) and 66 (34) while opening before a failure (1 off 3 balls) in his last match. Jurel has now left the Gorakhpur squad to join India A for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
Other stars
Mohsin Khan: 5 matches, 18 overs, 6 wickets, 18.2 average, 6.1 economy
Yash Dayal (left for Duleep Trophy): 3 matches, 9 overs, 0 wickets, 5.9 economy
Piyush Chawla: 6 matches, 22 overs, 8 wickets, 22.6 average, 8.2 economy
Seizing the opportunity
Zeeshan Ansari: Meerut’s leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, snapping 14 wickets. He is striking at 9.2 runs per wicket with a staggering economy of 6.5 for a wrist-spinner. The 24-year-old began the season on a grand note, taking 3/18 against Kashi and then 5/26 in the subsequent game against Kanpur.
Swastik Chikara: The Ghaziabad-born is the second-highest run-scorer right now, amassing 251 runs in six innings. To go with an average of 50.2, the right-hander has a stellar strike rate of 232.4. Opening for Meerut, Chikara has had scores of 66 (26), 75* (36) and 85 (27) in the competition. Only 19 years old, Chikara was part of the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 but didn’t get a game.
Aryan Juyal: A right-handed wicketkeeper-batter, Aryan Juyal is third on the run-scoring tally having played only three innings. He has 216 runs against his name at a strike rate of 162.4. He notched up the only hundred of the tournament (104*) against Noida. In the other two innings, he scored 60 (44) and 52 (35). Juyal has left the Gorakhpur squad to be with India C for the Duleep Trophy. Only 22 years old, he has previously been a part of India U19 and Mumbai Indians, although he didn’t feature in the XI for the latter.
Sunil Kumar: The highest wicket-taker among seamers, Sunil Kumar has snaffled 10 wickets, taking only 8.4 deliveries per wicket. A left-arm seamer, Sunil has been destructive in the death overs, grabbing eight wickets in that phase. In the middle overs, he has an economy of 5.5, making him a tough bowler to counter in two phases. He has been a prime reason behind Kashi’s brilliant season thus far. His best bowling performance was 4/18 against Gorakhpur.
(Cover image credits: t20uttarpradesh on Instagram)
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