‘I believed I had to score the runs on my own’: Sameer Rizvi’s blistering 91 powers Kanpur Superstars to 8-wicket win

Kanpur, Aug 30 (IANS) Impact Player Sameer Rizvi delivered a masterclass in power-hitting, smashing an unbeaten 91 off just 39 balls to guide the Kanpur Superstars to a dominant eight-wicket win over the Noida Kings in Match 25 of the UP T20 League 2026. Played in front of an electric home crowd at the historic Green Park Stadium, a venue that has hosted 40 international matches, the victory keeps Kanpur’s playoff aspirations firmly alive while handing Noida their second straight defeat.

Following his Player of the Match performance, Rizvi revealed that a finger injury sustained earlier in the tournament prevented him from featuring in the starting XI.

“In our first match, I took a catch and injured my finger. Since then, I’ve been having quite a lot of trouble while fielding,” Rizvi explained. “I told the management that I wanted to play as an Impact Player because whenever the ball hits my finger while fielding, the pain gets worse, and it was also causing problems while batting. So, we decided to use me as an Impact Player.”

After heavy rains delayed proceedings, the Green Park ground staff produced a swift turnaround to set up a 12-over-a-side contest. Chasing 129, Kanpur suffered early setbacks as both openers fell cheaply, but Rizvi stepped onto the pitch with total clarity of thought.

“It’s important to show intent during the powerplay,” Rizvi said. “Since it was a 12-over match and the target was around 130, if a team capitalizes on the powerplay, it becomes easier to control the game later. My plan was that because the powerplay was short, whatever runs I could score would help the team as much as possible.”

Addressing whether the scoreboard pressure affected his game plan, Rizvi stated, “No, sir. I was just thinking that I would play my game—the way I normally play—and bat like that till the end. Whether we needed five runs or fifty runs, I had decided on that mindset before going in, and I batted with the same approach. I wasn’t thinking about who was at the non-striker’s end or whether someone was supporting me; I just believed in myself that I had to score the runs on my own.”

Rizvi decorated his whirlwind innings with 11 boundaries and five sixes, finding solid support in Abhishek Pandey, who contributed an unbeaten 30 off 17 deliveries to wrap up the chase in just 10.4 overs.

Earlier, Noida Kings got off to a blistering start through Shoaib Siddiqui (20 off 10) and Madhav Kaushik (31 off 11), reaching 45/0 inside 2.2 overs. However, Kanpur’s Yashovardhan Singh turned the tide with a stellar spell of 3/10, including a maiden over, reducing Noida to 69/5 before skipper Prashant Veer’s unbeaten 50 off 27 balls lifted them to 128/6.

Rizvi lauded stand-in skipper Adarsh Singh for his sharp tactical handling during Noida’s early assault. “He handled things really well. It was a flat wicket, and they got a good start initially. Even after that, he made some really good bowling changes and restricted them to a very low target. His captaincy was quite good.”

–IANS

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