He took three wickets in his last over.
Zeeshan Ansari didn’t have a glamorous debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). But, he’s counting every opportunity since to bolster his retention chances ahead of IPL 2026. In the ongoing UP T20 League, the pacer picked up a four-for to help his team, Meerut Mavericks, register their third win so far.
Meerut Mavericks won the toss and opted to bat first in their fifth game of the league. They got off to a good start with Royal Challengers Bengaluru player Swastik Chikara smashing boundaries. But he was dismissed for 20 (15) on the last ball of the fourth over. Wickets continued to topple as Akshay Dubey (five) and Madhav Kaushik (17) also returned for low scores. Rituraj Sharma struck a few shots before he was out on 34 (19).
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh also had a low day, as he managed just 10 runs. Divyansh Rajput steadied the ship with 53 not out off 28 balls. He hit three boundaries and four sixes. Late blitz from Ritik Vats (24 off 18) and Yash Garg (13 off five) helped the Mavericks put up 184/7.
In response, Vishal Chaudhary bowled fire to the Noida Kings. He took two wickets in consecutive balls in the opening over. Vijay Kumar and Kartik Tyagi took one wicket each before Zeeshan stole the show. The opposition was looking to settle, but the 25-year-old took out the middle-order while keeping his overs economical.
Zeeshan put pressure by giving only two runs in his first over, which was the 10th over of the innings. His next over was a wicket maiden with Satyam Sangu’s wicket. Prashant Veer and veteran batter Karn Sharma were trying to make way for Noida. Zeeshan ended up with three wides and a six in his third over. But his fourth over, the last of his quote, was a special comeback. In the last over of the match, Zeeshan took two wickets in two balls, of Veer and new batter Kartik Siddhu. On the penultimate ball, he dismissed Mohammed Sharim as well.
With this, the Mavericks won by 41 runs and are placed third on the points table.
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In the five matches of UP T20 League 2025 so far, Zeeshan has scalped seven wickets at an average of 21.43. Bowling in Meerut Mavericks vs Noida Kings, Zeeshan proved that he can bowl in pressure situations and death overs. He was also quite economical, further showcasing his skills that are important for a T20 bowler.
SRH had acquired the speedster for just INR 40 lakh. In IPL 2025, the youngster picked up six wickets in 10 outings. However, his average of 55.50 and economy rate of over nine were quite high by IPL standards. SRH had several underperformers in their squad, some of whom may be released ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Zeeshan, however, is unlikely to be on that list, considering it was only his debut IPL season. The franchise would likely be keen to groom him in the years to come rather than let him go. Moreover, with the way Zeeshan Ansari is making the most of his opportunities, his stock may rise in the near future.
