Noida Super Kings vs Gorakhpur Lions, 18th Match (T20) — Uttar Pradesh T20 league

Who will win NSK vs GL?

Cric First AI picks Noida Super Kings · confidence 58/100

• NSK win toss, bowl first at Ekana — chasing under lights.
• Pitch rated Fast & Bounce; overcast skies, 94% humidity all evening.
• GL average 175+ SR from top order — Abhay Pratap Sing, Siddarth Yadav in form.
• NSK odds 1.74 vs GL 2.2; win prob split 55.8-44.2.

Multiple previews independently favoured NSK bowling first here, but rain risk and a surface reading that contradicts the venue's usual profile add real uncertainty.

Result: NSK won by 4 wickets. Prediction correct.

Toss and conditions

Noida Super Kings won the toss and chose to bowl first; Gorakhpur Lions bat first. NSK opt to field, backing a fast-bounce surface and overcast skies to trouble Gorakhpur's batters upfront.

Toss removes NSK's chase uncertainty but hands early-innings control to a GL top three averaging 175+ SR.

Kunal Tyagi gets fresh, bouncy Ekana surface first-up; the same plan misfired last time GL posted 185.

Key factors

Projected score and key matchup

First innings: 170-185 — Fast, bouncy Ekana surface plus overcast skies should keep this in the 165-185 range batting first.

Abhay Pratap Sing v Kunal Tyagi: Explosive starter against the new-ball option NSK will lean on to strike inside the powerplay.

Players to watch

Head-to-head and form

NSK 1 – 0 GL (2026 season (1 meeting)). NSK chased down 186 to beat GL by 3 wickets in their only 2026 meeting at this venue, on 20 August.

Noida Super Kings: NSK won their only previous 2026 meeting with GL at this ground, chasing 186 down with a ball to spare.

Gorakhpur Lions: Gorakhpur have leaned on top-order fireworks this season but need their middle order to back it up.

The story so far

Noida arrive off a dramatic three-wicket win over this very opponent — chasing 186 at this ground, they slipped to 46/3 before recovering, the win eventually sealed with a ball to spare. Gorakhpur, for their part, have shown they can post competitive totals here even after early wobbles, and their top order has carried genuine strike-rate menace all season, with two batters striking above 160 in their last three outings apiece. Both sides sit mid-table in a tightening Uttar Pradesh T20 league table, making this the kind of fixture neither can afford to fumble.

Ekana's reputation is for a used, spin-holding surface, but today's report flags Fast & Bounce conditions instead, which changes the calculus for both new-ball attacks. NSK's decision to bowl first lines up with pre-match thinking that pressuring Gorakhpur's top three early is the percentage play, with Kunal Tyagi handed the new-ball assignment against Abhay Pratap Sing and Siddarth Yadav, both capable of clearing the square boundary inside the first six overs. Thick cloud cover and 94% humidity raise the seam-and-swing stakes further, while a slower, dew-affected chase later could still tip things back toward whoever survives the opening burst.

The chase: NSK need 113

Slight nod to Noida with just 113 needed, but Ekana's history of defending small totals keeps Gorakhpur firmly in it if early wickets fall.

A target of 113 looks routine on paper, but Ekana has turned low totals into nervy finishes before, including a game defended at just 99. NSK's top order just needs to bat with intent in the powerplay and let the required rate stay behind them.

Conditions: Overcast and humid with fast, bouncy Ekana surface — historically a tough, low-scoring venue for batters.

• 112 is a modest target but Ekana has a history of low-scoring squeezes.
• Overcast, humid conditions with 100% cloud cover could aid seam movement early.
• NSK need only 5.7 an over — control, not power, wins this.

Shoaib Siddiqui v Vasu Vats: Vats has form and pace to exploit the bounce; Siddiqui's start dictates NSK's tempo for the chase.

• Powerplay wickets could make 112 feel much bigger
• Middle overs against Vishal Nishad need calm rotation
• Any collapse invites GL back into a low-scoring finish