Region No 1 Biratnagar registered their second consecutive victory in the Pepsi T20 Men´s National League Cricket Tournament stunning defending champions Region No 3 Kathmandu by four runs at the IOE Ground.
Biratnagar, batting first, put up 113 runs losing seven wickets and restricted Kathmandu to 109/9 in a last-over thriller.
Biratnagar lost early wickets but Pushpa Thapa and Ajay Rajbanshi anchored the innings with a 62-run third wicket partnership. Thapa scored 29 runs while Rajbanshi struck 32 off 38 balls. Paras Khadka, Sunam Gautam and Dipendra Chaudhary took two wickets each.
Chasing the small total, Kathmandu could not begin well as man-of-the-match Manjeet Shrestha (4/13) took three wickets very early. Kathmandu lost the three wickets at the score of 12.
Captain Paras Khadka (31 runs off 31 balls), Gyanendra Malla (18 off 33 balls) and Sunam Gautam (21 off 24 balls) tried to anchor the innings but could not stop losing wickets in regular intervals.
Kathmandu were in need of 11 runs from the last over. Gautam hit a six in the first ball of Ajay Rajbanshi, but could not hold his nerve and was caught by Mehboob Alam at short fine-leg in the fourth ball.
In another match of the day, Region No 2 Birgunj defeated Region No 5 Nepalgunj by four wickets.
Batting first, Nepalgunj were all out for 81 runs in 16.2 overs. Raj Mohammad, Binod Das, Rahul Pratap Singh and Sanjam Regmi claimed two wickets each to limit Nepalgunj to a low score. Sandeep Shrestha (15 runs) was the highest contributor for Nepalgunj.
In the run chase, Birgunj also could not bat well and lost four wickets for 27 runs. Binod Das remained unbeaten on 32 runs off 22 balls that included four sixes to anchor the Birgunj innings and guided them to victory in 17.5 overs. Das was adjudged man-of-the-match.
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No matter the result of the game, it has been a fabulous game of cricket. The tension shifting back and forth with the pendulum of fortunes in the game, it really entertained the spectators though only fewer numbers. I reckon, Biratnagar played with a game plan and put pressure on the strong batting line-up of Kathmanduites throughout the game. Only the other day, Kathmandu had registered a huge total and won the game comprehensively. To be honest, in a new avatar of 20Twenty Cricket format, the margin of error is minifying. On a given day, any team can win the game, provided they can bat and ball under pressure and believe in themselves the mantra ” Yep, we can do it dudes”. Other teams have to take a cue from Biratnagar that despite posting a minimum total, the team did not give up and displayed a rearguard action and successfully vanquished the Kathmanduite’s strong batting line-up and ensured a cliff-hanger game. Definitely, there are some exciting and pulsating games in store…………….
Now, something to delve into recent national cricketers’ outbursts appearing in media section targeted against Cricket Association of Nepal. I reckon, the players have every right to ask for the facilities and benefits they are entitled to and complain it in case it is not been fulfilled by the concerned Authority responsible for the development and betterment of the game of cricket and cricketers. However, instead of first approaching the related authority bursting out in the media is a bit immature attitude shown by the cricketers. Agreed, even if their justified demands were unmet, they could have approached in a systematic manner and sort out whatever misgivings they may have. Thankfully, the matter has been resolved for the moment and I would like to see such kind of incident does not arise for any reason whatsoever. The national crickets and Cricket Association of Nepal should work hand in hand and work towards the overall development of the game of cricket. Cricket Association of Nepal should also make it sure the justified demands of cricketers are met without further delay and if there is any lackadaisical way of working mechanism if prevalent in the working style of Cricket Association of Nepal, it has to be rectified and put things in a better way.