KATHMANDU, Dec 26: Indian opening batsman Jaykishan Kolsawala smashed his first fifty to seal a spot for Lalitpur Patriots in the Eliminator of EPL 2017. Both teams, Lalitpur and Pokhara will once again lock horns in the eliminator tomorrow. Kathmandu Kings XI and Chitwan Tigers are eliminated from the tournament.
Biratnagar Warriors finished at top of the EPL table with five wins and 10 points followed by Bhairahawa Gladiators at the second position with 8 points. Pokhara Rhinos finished third on the table followed by Lalitpur Patriots at four both having 4 points. Kathmandu Kings XI and Chitwan Tigers finished 5th and 6th on the table and are eliminated from the competition.
It went tight the end as equation came down to 4 required of last 3 deliveries. Patriots skipper Gyanendra Malla played a cool hand hitting a six in the last ball of the match to deliver the second win for Lalitpur in the group stage. Malla scored unbeaten 27 runs from 17 deliveries. Kolsawala scored 56 runs in 45 deliveries smashing 4 fours and 3 sixes and shared a partnership of 84 runs with Shankar Rana whos scored 35 runs including 5 fours.
Opening batsman Sunil Dhamala carried his bat scoring unbeaten 70 runs from 62 deliveries to power Pokhara Rhinos to 132 runs in 20 overs. Rhinos collected 40 runs in last 4 overs of the innings as Dhamala smashed 5 sixes in his first fifty of the EPL 2017.
Lalitpur Patriots won the toss and elected to bowl first in a must-win contest for them to qualify for the playoffs. Rhinos lost two early wickets as both Pakistani recruits Israullah and Asif Ali were dismissed cheaply. A partnership of 66 runs between Dhamala and Rajesh Pulami Magar who scored 32 runs in 32 deliveries bailed out Rhinos from a tricky situation. Binod Bhandari scored 12 runs from 7 deliveries at the end of the innings to provide the late boost to the Rhinos total.
Lalit Rajbanshi, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dinesh Bhandari and Rashid Khan picked up a wicket each for Patriots.
Match Summary:
Pokhara Rhinos 132/5 (20 Ov)
Sunil Dhamala 70* (62) 2 fours, 5 sixes
Rajesh Pulami 32 (32) 2 fours, 1 six
Lalit Rajbanshi 4-0-16-1
Sandeep Lamichhane 4-0-22-1
Lalitpur Patriots (Toss) 138/4 (20 Ov)
Jaykishan Kolsawala 56 (45) 4 fours, 3 sixes
Shankar Rana 35 (39) 5 fours
Gyanendra Malla 27* (17) 1 four, 1 six
Israrullah 4-0-26-2
Lalitpur Patriots won the match by six wickets.
Man of the Match: Sunil Dhamala
Tomorrow’s matches:
9 AM: Qualifier 1 Biratnagar Warriors vs Bhairahawa Gladiators
12:45 PM: Eliminator Pokhara Rhinos vs Lalitpur Patriots
Lalitpur Patriots register their first victory
