Allrounder Tomar dents Titans’ playoff qualification hopes

POKHARA, Oct 30: The batsman from Punjab Ravi Inder Singh made his first half-century of the league as Pokhara Paltan bounced back from second match defeat to win by five wickets against Chitwan Rhinos to make it two wins in three matches in the ongoing Pokhara Premier League (PPL), at Pokhara Cricket Ground, on Monday. Paras Khadka-led Rhinos have lost their both games in the league so far.

Chasing the target of 141 runs to win, Ravi Inder shared back to back winning partnerships -- 78 runs with Rohit Kumar Paudel for the third wicket and 56 runs with skipper Sharad Vesawkar for the fourth wicket -- to secure two points after being reduced to no runs on board for the loss of two wickets at the start. 

Ravi Inder scored 65 runs smashing eight boundaries and three sixes during his 48-ball stay. Similarly, Vesawkar, in his devastating form, smashed three fours and three sixes scoring 37 runs off 20 deliveries. 

Young batsman Paudel contributed 19 runs in the crucial partnership of 78 runs with Ravi Inder to bring the chase back on track for Paltan after a horrible start.

Rhinos lead bowler Karan KC was once again in thick of things as he picked up three wickets in his four overs. Likewise, Indian bowler Sunny Patel and veteran Shakti Gauchan shared a wicket each.

Earlier, Rhinos won the toss and elected to bat first. Skipper Khadka and Indian player Sunny contributed 44 and 46 runs, respectively, in a total of 140 runs in 20 overs for the loss of five wickets. Both batsmen smashed three fours and three sixes each in their 32 and 27-ball stay, respectively. 

Wickets were distributed among the Paltan bowlers as veteran Mehboob Alam, UAE bowler Mohammad Naveed, and Vesawkar shared a wicket each. Likewise, leg-spinner Bikram Bhusal picked up two wickets. Lalit Rajbanshi and Rashid Khan conceded 20 and 23 runs in their respective wicket-less four overs in the match.

Rhinos skipper Khadka felt the total was good 20-25 runs short to mount any sort of challenge. “Think 165 or 175 could have been an ideal total batting first, but Paltan and especially Ravi Inder Singh played very well in the match,” said Khadka. 

Likewise, Paltan captain Vesawkar was pumped after the outstanding comeback win. “If you see how we started the chase, I think, the win has to be one of the best. It was difficult to bat but we did well,” said Vesawkar.

Paltan have three-day rest before facing Dhangadhi Blues on Friday. Similarly, Rhinos will play same team on Tuesday morning.

Kathmandu Royals’ Gaurav Tomar, the Uttar-Pradesh batsman, had a field day against Biratnagar Titans picking up two wickets, enforcing a run-out and scoring second half-century to single-handedly propel his team to a win by five wickets in the sixth match of the ongoing Pokhara Premier League on Monday.

Chasing the target of 150 runs, Tomar smashed three sixes and six boundaries to score 66 runs in 46 deliveries to complete the win in the 20th over for Royals. He shared a match-winning partnership of 62 runs with Amit Shrestha, the Royals opening batsman, who scored 35 runs from 33 deliveries. Player-of-the-match Tomar’s tally of sixes have reached to 13 in two matches adding three from his last match’s tally of record-breaking 10 against Dhangadhi Blues.

Titans captain Sandeep Lamichhane struggled in his four overs conceding 30 runs and picking up a wicket of Tomar when the damage was already done. Shrestha targeted Lamichhane with array of sweep shots for a great effect. Shahab Alam and Kishore Mahato conceded 21 runs each in their four overs and picked up wickets of Naresh Budhayer and Jaykishan Kolsawala respectively to give Titans some chance of defending the paltry score. Jitendra Mukhiya was the only other wicket-taker for Titans who dismissed Royals captain Gyanendra Malla for 17 runs.

Earlier, Titans won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistani U-19 batsman Muhammad Zaid Alam registered his first half-century of the league to help Titans post 149 runs in 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets. Zaid scored 67 runs smashing four sixes and seven boundaries during his 47-ball stay. Former Nepal internationals, Sunil Dhamala and Rajesh Pulami Magar, made 30 runs each as none of the other Titans batsmen were able to cross double figures.

Royals experienced spin duo Basant Regmi and Susan Bhari chipped with two wickets each, both being miserly in their respective spells. Regmi conceded 11 runs from his four overs whereas Bhari conceded 19 runs from his four.

Kathmandu Royals and Butwal Blasters are two unbeaten teams of the tournament. Blasters are on top of the league table with a better net run rate than that of Royals. Titans have now lost all three matches with two to go against unbeaten Blasters and Chitwan Rhinos. Titans will face Blasters on Wednesday afternoon match whereas Royals will play Chitwan Rhinos on Thursday in a morning start.

Brief scores
6th Match, Pokhara Premier League in Pokhara
Biratnagar Titans 149/7
M Alam 67, B Regmi 11/2, S Bhari 19/2, G Tomar 29/2 
Hulas Kathmandu Royals 151/5 (19.2/20 ovs)
G Tomar 66, A Shrestha 35, S Alam 21/2 
Royals won by 5 wickets 
Player of the Match: Gaurav Tomar 
7th Match
Chitwan Rhinos 140/5
S Patel 46*, P Khadka 44, B Bhusal 33/2
Pokhara Paltan 146/5 (17.2/20 ovs)
R Singh 65, S Veswakar 37, K KC 19/3 
Paltan won by 5 wickets 
Player of the Match: Ravi Inder Singh

 
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