Kanpur, 30 August: Lucknow Falcons have qualified for the playoffs in spectacular style by defeating Gorakhpur Lions by 24 runs in the 26th match of UP T20 League 2026. This is Lucknow's fifth win in 9 matches in this match played at the historic Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. With this, Lucknow has become the second team after Meerut Mavericks to reach the playoffs.
Lucknow recovered from bad start
Lucknow Falcons, who came to bat first after losing the toss, had a very poor start. Under the leadership of Gorakhpur captain Shivam Sharma (2/12), the bowlers bowled brilliantly and destroyed the top order of Lucknow. At one time the team's score was only 51 runs for 4 wickets in 8.4 overs.
Captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar disclosed after the innings and said, “The start was not what we wanted. During the 10-over break, our target was to reach 100 runs by the 15th over and add 40-50 runs in the last 5 overs. We thought even 130-140 runs would be a fighting total.”
Record partnership of Ajit Verma and Kritagya Singh
Taking the team out of the difficult situation, Ajit Verma and Kritiya Singh made a record partnership of 109 runs in just 64 balls for the fifth wicket.
- Ajit Verma played a brilliant inning of 75 not out, which included 8 fours and 3 sixes.
- Kritiya Singh also played a valuable inning of 44 runs in 31 balls, helping the team reach a strong score of 170 for 5 in the stipulated 20 overs.
Captain Bhuvneshwar praised the young batsman and said, “Ajit and Kritagya showed great maturity. This is the kind of partnership we were looking for throughout the tournament. Ajit made such an impact that we had to include him in the playing eleven.”
Great performance by the bowlers and victory
Gorakhpur Lions, who set out to chase the target of 170 runs, also had a bad start. Abhinandan Singh provided the early blows with lethal bowling, while Vipraj Nigam (3/17) and Akshu Bajwa also bowled economically.
From Gorakhpur side, Prince Yadav (49) and Parth Palawat struggled and tried to make a comeback, but due to the brilliant death overs bowling of Abhinandan Singh (3/32) and captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the entire team collapsed for 146 runs in 20 overs.
With the spectacular win, Lucknow Falcons are now full of confidence and are all set to enter the knockout stage i.e. 'Business End' of the tournament.
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