[Watch] Meerut Mavericks’ Swastik Chikara hits the fastest fifty of UP T20 League 2024
With his spectacular innings, Meerut Mavericks’ Swastik Chikara set the record for the fastest fifty of the Uttar Pradesh T20 League 2024 in the 16th match against Kashi Rudras. The game took place at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Monday, September 2.
Kashi Rudras won the toss and chose to bowl first after rain reduced the match to 18 overs. Meerut Mavericks struggled early, with opener Akshay Dubey dismissed for a duck on just two balls by Shiva Singh. The Mavericks were at 3-1 after 1.3 overs when rain halted play. The game later resumed as a nine-over-per-side contest.
Chikara went on a rampage in the sixth over, hitting Karan Chaudhary for four consecutive sixes to reach his fifty off just 17 balls. The right-handed batter then launched three more sixes in the eighth over against Shivam Mavi, before the bowler finally had the upper hand and dismissed him on the last ball of the over.
Here’s the video of Swastik’s innings:
The 19-year-old scored 85 off 27 balls, hitting four boundaries and 10 sixes, as the Mavericks concluded their innings at 118-3 in their nine overs.
Vishal Chaudhary shines with the ball for Meerut Mavericks
According to the DLS method, Kashi Rudras needed 117 runs to win in nine overs. However, they had a troubled start as Mavericks bowler Vishal Chaudhary dismissed both openers, Karan Sharma (4) and Shiva Singh (6), in the second over.
Rajat Sanserwal then made an impact in the third over, removing Almas Shaukat (1) and Shivam Bansal (0). Vishal continued his excellent performance by claiming two more wickets in his second over, dismissing Prince Yadav (1) and Shivam Mavi (0). Rudras found themselves struggling at 21-6 after four overs.
Yashovardhan Singh provided some resistance with an unbeaten 28 off 14 balls, but Kashi Rudras could only muster 66 runs in their nine overs, falling short by 50. Vishal Chaudhary was the standout performer for Meerut, taking four wickets for just seven runs across his two overs.