DHANGADHI, April 11: Kanchanpur Iconic faced second consecutive defeat in the ongoing Dhangadhi Premier League T20 Cricket Tournament as Kathmandu Goldens beat the Binod Bhandari-led team on Tuesday. In the second clash of the day played at SSP Cricket Ground, Dhangadhi, Basant Regmi-led Kathmandu Goldens registered 24 runs win over Kanchanpur Iconic.
Earlier in the first match of the day, an all-round show from skipper Sharad Vesawkar inspired Biratnagar Kings to a 23-run win over Dhangadhi-based team, Chauaraha led by national team captain Paras Khadka.
Dhangadi Stars faces second consecutive loss in DPL
Sharad scored highest 46 runs and claimed three wickets to help Biratnagar Kings defend the total of 134/6 and dismiss Chauraha for 111 for the loss of nine wickets at the close. Player-of-the-match Vesawkar built a 57-run partnership with Anil Shah for the fourth wicket. Vesawkar smashed four boundaries and two sixes while Anil hit three sixes to make 28 runs off 17 balls.
After the match Biratnagar Kings' captain Vesawkar said that clinching wickets timely helped his team start the tournament with full two points. "Today our fielding was very good and taking down decisive wickets in the right time helped us seal the victory," said Vesawkar.
Earlier, openers Amit Shrestha and Aasif Sheikh gave a good start to Biratnagar Kings contributing 19 and 10 runs respectively. Chauraha's Lalit Rajbanshi took two wickets while Sushan Bhari, Ramnaresh Giri and Aarif Sheikh claimed one each wicket.
Meanwhile, Chauraha's skipper Paras Khadka who had stroked impressive 68 runs in Nepal XI's victory over Dhangadhi XI in a charity match a few days back was sent to the pavilion for just two runs. He was caught by Aasif Sheikh in Sushil Kandel's ball. Openers Raju Rijal and Anil Mandal made 13 and 24 runs respectively with both of them hitting two boundaries each. Foreign recruit Amar Routela contributed highest 26 runs for Chauraha including one boundary and two sixes. Beside skipper Vesawkar, Sushil Kandel took three wickets for Biratnagar Kings while Jitendra Mukhiya claimed two wickets and Dipendra Airee added another.
Chauraha's skipper Khadka said that poor batting was the reason behind the defeat. "Though the target was not big, our batting was so poor that it prevented us reach the target," said skipper Khadka.
Meanwhile in the second match of the day, Kathmandu Goldens won the toss and decided to bat first before making a total of 147 runs in 20 overs losing seven wickets. Bhuvan Karki smashed highest 36 runs for Kathmandu Goldens smashing five boundaries and two sixes. He also built up a 34-run partnership with Sandeep Jhora for the eighth wicket which was vital to make the respectable total for Kathmandu Goldens. Openers Narseh Budayair and Shubhendhu Pandey contributed 10 and 19 runs respectively. Skipper Basant Regmi made 14 runs facing 24 balls before getting caught by Bhim Sharki in Sunil Dhamala's delivery. Kanchanpur Iconic's Avinash Karna claimed three wickets while Kamal Singh Airee, Kushal Bhurtel, Sunil Dhamala and Sonu Tamang took one each wicket for the team.
Kathmandu Goldens' captain Regmi said that improved performances from bowlers helped to pull their first win in the tournament.
In reply, Kanchanpur Iconic was packed for 123 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs. Opener Sagar Pun gave good start to Kanchanpur Iconic buiding up 28 runs partnership with Sunil Dhamal for the first wicket and 44 runs partnership with Hasim Ansari for the second wicket. However, losing middleorder batsmen Binod Bhandari, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Bhurtel and Sonu Tamang cheaply cost the game for Kanchanpur Iconic. Skipper Bhandari was sent to the pavilion for six runs while other batsmen including Bhim, Kushal and Sonu made just two runs each. Kathmandu Goldens' Basant and Santosh Bhatta claimed two wickets each while Manjeet Shrestha, Sompal Kami and Sandeep Jhora took one wicket each.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the first match will be between CYC Attariya and Rupandehi Challengers while in the second match of the day Biratnagar Kings will take on Kathmandu Goldens.
