When Rahul BK was bowling during Bhairahawa’s first match against Nepalgunj, national vice-captain Shakti Gauchan was praising the little-boy saying: ‘he bowls better than me.’ The left-arm spinner proved it with an all-round performance against Birgunj that took Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj to the semifinals.
Invited to bat first, Bhairahawa scored 168/9 in 42 overs of the rain-affected match before bowling out Birgunj for 83 runs in 20.3 overs.
Rahul was the hero of both the innings, he entered the crease when Bhairahawa were 38/3 in 18.4 overs. He too was slow at the start taking five overs for a 11-run partnership with Govindra Pradhan (12). But once Sagar Khadka joined him, the scenario changed.
Sagar (26) and Rahul batted aggressively and added 68 runs in 12 overs and rescued the team. After Sagar, it was turn for Akash Gupta in an ideal hitting condition. Akash scored 23 runs in first 10 balls he faced and accelerated the innings. His 28 off 21 balls was with two fours and two sixes. Rahul was ran out for 42 runs off 42 balls that included five fours and a six.
Though Bhairahawa punished Birgunj bowlers during the late stage of the innings, their efforts in the beginning was praiseworthy. The kept on tight line and dried up runs. Sanjog Karn, Amit Sohail and Sashi Keshari each took two wickets. Shashi began with four maiden overs.
Birgunj needed to chase the score in 25.3 overs for their progress to semifinal at expense of the two-time defending champions Bhairahawa and they did show they are going to try that. Suraj Timilsina and Anil Mandal added 30 runs in first four overs. Anil (11) became Bal Bahadur Thapa’s first victim. From 30/0, they were quickly 43/4 with Suraj gone on 23.
Bal Bahadur took three wickets while left-arm spinners Lal Bahadur Adhikari and Rahul caused havoc. Lal (2/21) bowled seven overs while Rahul got a five-wicket haul in 4.3 overs giving away only 12 runs as Birgunj were all out for 83 in 20/3 overs.
Bhairahawa plays Biratnagar in the first semifinal on Thursday while Kathmandu and Nepalgunj meets in another on Friday. The final, to be aired live by Nepal Television, is scheduled for Saturday.
Brief Score: Bhairahawa 168/9 in 42 overs (R BK 42, A Gupta 28, S Khadka 26, S Karn 2/27, S Keshari 2/28, A Sohail 2/36) defeated Birgunj 83 in 20.3 overs (S Timilsina 23, R BK 5/12, BB Thapa 3/22, LB Adhikari 2/21) by 85 runs.