KATHMANDU, Dec 15: Kathmandu Gurkhas registered a thrilling one-wicket victory over Biratnagar Kings. The Gurkhas, once facing an uphill task after losing nine wickets for 102, struck the winning four in the first ball of the 19th over of the Kings.
Replying to Biratnagar’s 117/10, Kathmandu scored 120 for 9 in 18.1 overs, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Kandel, who arrived as the 11th batter, hammered the winning four to keep the team’s chances of qualifying to the playoffs alive.
Kathmandu, now with eight points from seven matches, were in a must-win situation in today’s last round-robin match. They now need to wait for the result of the match to be played between Karnali Yaks and Sudurpaschim Royals tomorrow. Kathmandu can enter the playoffs only if Sudurpaschim defeat Karnali by a big margin. Meanwhile, Biratnagar Kings have already exited from the playoffs.
Prateek Shrestha scored the highest of 39 runs for Kathmandu. He hit 2 fours and 2 sixes in 34 balls. Prateek was dismissed by Anil Kharel in the third ball of the 14th over. Kharel also bowled out captain Karan KC, who was facing the first ball. Rashid Khan scored 14 runs off 15 balls with the help of a four and a six. Biratnagar captain Sandeep Lamichhane bowled Rashid out.
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Captain Lamichhane dismissed opener Michael Levitt after he scored 10 runs in 6 balls. Another opener Stephen Skinazi was dismissed by Bashir Ahmed after scoring 1 run.
Lower-order batsman Kandel scored 11 not out off 5 balls to secure a thrilling win. Gerard Erasmus scored 12 runs in 7 balls before being dismissed by Biratnagar captain Lamichhane who took 3 wickets for Biratnagar. Anil Kharel, Chris Soul and Bashir Ahmed each took 2 wickets.
Earlier, Biratnagar, who were invited to bat after losing the toss at the TU ground, were all out in 19.5 overs and were bundled out for 117 runs.
Rajesh Pulami Magar scored the highest of 25 runs for Biratnagar. He hit a four and a six in 21 balls. Captain Karan dismissed him in the fourth ball of the 20th over.
Opener Deepak Bohora scored 20 runs in 24 balls with the help of 2 fours. Deepak was bowled lbw by Dipesh Kandel in the last ball of the ninth over.
Scott Edwards made 15 runs in 14 balls before being bowled by Gerard Erasmus. Bashir Ahmed was out for 13 off 13 balls.
Bashir hit a six on the second ball of the 15th over. On the next ball, Bhim Sharki caught him on the boundary while trying a big shot against Sahab Alam.
Opener Lokesh Bam was out lbw by Dan Downwethat for 8 runs off 9 balls. Nicholas Kirtan was run out for 12 runs off 19 balls. Kandel bowled Ismat Alam for 5 runs. For Kathmandu, Gerhard Erasmus took 3 wickets, Kandel two wickets and Dan Douthwaite, Karan, and Shahab Alam took one wicket each. With the win, Kathmandu has kept its playoff chances alive. Lumbini Lions, Biratnagar, and Pokhara Avengers have already been eliminated.
