The Meerut Mavericks, led by Rinku Singh, have encountered a mixed run of form in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League. The team, which started strong, has struggled to string together consecutive victories. While their performance on the field usually decides their fate, this time, they faced a situation where they were unfairly defeated. Rinku and his team, along with everyone else, were left puzzled by the outcome. This injustice didn’t arise from any team or umpire, but from the weather, which abruptly shifted during the match, causing Meerut to lose.
Samer Rizvi’s Impressive Performance
The 16th match of the UP T20 League, held at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium on August 25th, saw the Meerut Mavericks take on the Kanpur Superstars. Kanpur batted first, accumulating 149 runs in their 20 overs. Kanpur’s captain, Samer Rizvi, was the top scorer, making 78 runs from just 48 deliveries. Rizvi remained unbeaten and steered his team to a competitive total, hitting 7 fours and 5 sixes. No other batter managed to produce a significant score.
Rain Plays Spoilsport for Meerut
After restricting Kanpur to such a score, Rinku and his team might have felt confident about their chances. However, their start was slow, losing two wickets for only 12 runs. This early setback proved costly. Meerut took 4 overs to reach 12 runs. Swastik Chikara then tried to accelerate the scoring, bringing the team to 41 runs in 8 overs.
But the weather intervened at this point. While Kanpur enjoyed favorable weather conditions throughout their innings, rain began during Meerut’s innings and didn’t stop. As a result, the match was called off, and Meerut lost by 14 runs due to the Duckworth-Lewis method. This was their third loss in 6 matches this season. The team currently holds second place in the points table.