KR vs MM, Preview | Mavericks and Rudras eye second UP T20 league title upcoming epic rivalry match

Yesterday at 8:07 PM

The UP T20 League final will be taking place at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on September 6, with Kashi Rudras battling against Meerut Mavericks in the championship game. Both teams will be eyeing their second UP T20 league title in the epic Meerut-Kashi rivalry game on Saturday.

‌The third season of the UP T20 League will be coming to an end with the final game to be played on Saturday, which will also decide the champions of the third season. The Championship game will be played between the two biggest rivals of the tournament as the Kashi Rudras will be facing off against the Meerut Mavericks. Apart from finishing in the top two in the league stages, the teams also have some history as well as they will be facing each other in the final for the second time.

The last time both teams played in the finals was in the inaugural season in 2023, where the Kashi Rudras had defeated the Mavericks by seven wickets on the back of a brilliant spell by Bobby Yadav and a match-winning knock from skipper Karan Sharma. However, the Mavericks came back stronger in the last season and became the champions in the 2024 edition under the leadership of two skippers, with Rinku Singh leading the side during the majority of the league stages and Kaushik standing in as his replacement in the playoffs. The Meerut franchise seems to be following the same tactic in the current season as well, with Kaushik once again leading the side in the absence of the swashbuckling left-handed batter.

This game is set to be another spectacle between the two teams as they will be eyeing their second title in the UP T20 league. Though the Kashi franchise might have got the better of the Mavericks in this current edition and finished on top of the points table, the Mavericks will also be looking for redemption for the inaugural final and become the first team in the franchise league to defend their title.

Form Guide

Though the Kashi Rudras were among the top performers in the tournament, their recent form has taken a bit of a blow after suffering a few losses at the backend of the league stage. Due to this, they lost three and won two games in their last five encounters.

The Meerut Mavericks, on the other hand, have had decent performances in their last five games, having won three of their last five matches in the tournament.

Kashi Rudras: W L L W L

Meerut Mavericks: W L W W L

KR vs MM Head-to-Head in T20s

The two teams have had some incredible battles in the eight games they have played against each other , where the Mavericks just about hold a two-game lead over the Rudras in the last three seasons.

Kashi Rudras 3 - 5 Meerut Mavericks

Pitch and Weather

The surface at the Ekana Stadium has been a balanced wicket where both batters and bowlers have their advantages. While the batters can time their shots while the ball is new, the conditions get tough in the middle overs due to the dryish texture of the wicket. While the pacer might get some uneven bounce of the track, the spinners also have a decent amount of grip and turn as well.

The conditions are expected to be cloudy and overcast at Lucknow with a 20% chance of rain, with the probable temperature ranging between 29-31 degrees Celsius.

Team News

Both teams are expected to go unchanged in the upcoming title clash at the Ekana Stadium.

Kashi Rudras Probable XI: Abhishek Goswami, Karan Sharma(c), Bhavy Goyal, Uvais Ahmad(wk), Shubham Chaubey, Saksham Rai, Shiva Singh, Kartik Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Atal Bihari Rai, Sunil Kumar.

Meerut Mavericks Probable XI: Swastik Chikara, Akshay Dubey(wk), Madhav Kaushik(c), Rituraj Sharma, Ritik Vats, Yash Garg, Zeeshan Ansari, Vijay Kumar, Vishal Chaudhary, Kartik Tyagi, Prashanth Chaudhary.