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UP Bridge Stars continued their strong start to the Big Cricket League 2026 with a comprehensive 24-run win over Northern Challengers at the Greater Noida Sports Complex on Friday, June 5. After being asked to bat first, UP Bridge Stars recovered from an early collapse to post 166/7 in their 20 overs and restricted Northern Challengers to 142/9.
This victory was decided by the brilliant half-centuries of Jermaine Blackwood and Chirag Gandhi, who took the innings forward after the team got into trouble inside the powerplay. Their efforts with the bat were later supported by a disciplined bowling performance under Jatin Mavi as UP Bridge Stars secured another valuable win in the tournament.
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Jermaine Blackwood and Chirag Gandhi rescue UP Bridge stars after early collapse
UP Bridge Stars, who came to bat first, had a bad start. Kennar Lewis was out on the very first ball of the innings, while Shubham Singh was out after scoring just two runs. The team was struggling at 33/3 in the fifth over with Rohit Krishnan out for 11 runs.
When the innings was in danger of falling apart, Jermaine Blackwood and Chirag Gandhi came together to rebuild the innings. The experienced pair withstood the pressure in the middle overs before withdrawing the attack from the bowlers.
Blackwood played an important inning of 57 runs in 43 balls with the help of seven fours and one six. Gandhi matched his partner’s contribution by scoring 59 runs in 43 balls which included six fours and a six. Their partnership helped UP Bridge Stars cross the 100-run mark and set the stage for a competitive total.
Vikas Sikarwar scored 15 runs in 11 balls, while Jeevan Mendis remained unbeaten on 11 runs in seven balls. UP Bridge Stars eventually finished at 166/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
For Northern Challengers, Subodh Bhati, Mujeeb and Bhanwar Panwar took two wickets each, while Ankul Yadav took one wicket.
Jatin Mavi leads the bowling for UP Bridge Stars
Defending 167 runs, UP Bridge Stars struck at regular intervals and never allowed Northern Challengers to gain control of the target. Chris Gayle and Phil Mustard started on top with 13 and 16 runs respectively, but both departed before converting them into big scores.
Angelo Perera looked the most comfortable batsman in the chase as he scored 32 runs off 24 balls, while Rishi Dhawan contributed 21 runs off 17 balls. However, Northern Challengers kept losing wickets at crucial stages, making it difficult to chase the target.
Jatin Mavi emerged as the standout performer with the ball for UP Bridge Stars. The all-rounder took three wickets for 38 runs and dismissed key middle-order batsmen during the decisive spell.
Saurin Thakar also impressed with two wickets for 23 runs in four overs, while Jatin Saini took two wickets. UP Bridge Stars strengthened their hold on the match with Miguel Cummins and Jeevan Mendis taking one wicket each.
Angelo Perera’s 32 runs went in vain as Northern Challengers fell behind
The Northern Challengers were in the competition at different stages, but failed to form match-deciding partnerships. After losing their top order cheaply, they relied heavily on Angelo Perera and Rishi Dhawan to maintain the chase.
Perera’s 32 and Dhawan’s 21 gave hope of a comeback for a while, but UP Bridge Stars continued to attack at regular intervals. Once Dhawan and Perera were out, the chase was completely lost.
Subodh Bhati played an entertaining inning of 14 runs off just eight balls, but the lower order could not provide enough support. Northern Challengers eventually finished at 142/9 in 20 overs, falling 24 runs short of the target.
The win was built around brilliant batting efforts from Jermaine Blackwood and Chirag Gandhi before the bowlers led by Jatin Mavi completed a professional all-round performance for UP Bridge Stars.