SMAT: Rinku’s efforts in vain as UP suffer 1st loss

Kanpur: Rinku Singh's valiant 65 went in vain as Uttar Pradesh suffered their first defeat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite T20 tournament, going down to Madhya Pradesh by 37 runs at the JU Second Campus in Kolkata on Sunday.Put in to bat, MP built their innings around two crucial partnerships — 60 runs for the third wicket between Harsh Gawali and captain Rajat Patidar, and 54 runs for the fifth wicket between Harsh and Harpreet Singh Bhatia. Harsh anchored the innings with 49 off 42 balls, hitting five boundaries. Patidar smashed a brisk 43 off 20 balls, while Harpreet added 33. A late flourish from Aniket Verma (19 off 8) lifted MP to 184 for seven. UP's chase got off to a disastrous start as they collapsed to 60 for 5 within 7.2 overs. Spinners Shivam Shukla and Rahul Batham ran through the batting line-up, taking three wickets each. Shukla removed Aryan Juyal (9) and skipper Karan Sharma (21), while Kartikeya Singh further dented UP by dismissing Abhishek Goswami (12) and Sameer Rizvi (9). P's spinners stuck to their plans and were backed by sharp fielding. After Shukla's early strikes, Batham troubled the lower order, removing Vipraj Nigam (13) and Shivam Mavi (10), both caught. Prashant Veer was trapped in front by Shukla for 3. Rinku Singh held firm at one end, scoring a fighting 65 off 42 balls with four boundaries and four sixes. His 38-run stand with Shivam Mavi was the best of the innings, but lack of support from the lower order hurt UP's chase. Batham eventually dismissed Rinku, caught by Patidar, as UP were bowled out for 147. Coach Arvind Kapoor said, "Only Rinku Singh showed resistance. Other batsmen need to apply themselves better. We hope to correct our mistakes in the upcoming matches." Brief scores: MP - 7 for 184 (Ankush Singh 31, Harsh Gawali 49, Rajat Patidar 43, Harpreet Singh 33; Vipraj Nigam 2/36); UP – 147 (Karan Sharma 21, Rinku Singh 65; Shivam Shukla 3/36, Kartikeya 2/24, Rahul Batham 3/33).

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