KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Sauraha Sands and Rapti Rapids are set to vie for the first ever Chitwan Premier League (CPL) title on Friday. 

Sands defeated Bharatpur Gurkhas in the Eliminator match played at Champapur in Narayangadh on Thursday to secure a spot in the final. Sands completed the chase of 86 runs in the last over of the match for the loss of eight wickets to register the win. 

Rajesh Dhakal top scored for Sands with a 28-ball 34 runs which included four boundaries and a six. Similarly, Aakash Chand contributed 11 runs.  Gurkhas’ Chandan Thakur scalped three wickets in a losing cause.

Earlier, Gurkhas were scuttled for 85 runs in 17.4 overs being invited to bat first after Sands won the toss. 

Bibek Kumar Gupta top-scored for the Gurkhas with a 22-ball 23 runs which included four boundaries. NishabTimilsina and Ashish Lamsal contributed 20 and 15 runs respectively. 

Sands’ leg-spinner Subarna Bhatta won player-of-the-match for registering three wickets to propel his team into the final.  Similarly, Anuj Chanara and Bibek Parajuli shared two wickets each.

Sands will face Rapids in the final match on Friday. 

Rapids directly qualified for the final match after topping the group with four straight wins whereas the second and third-placed teams on the table had to face each other in an Eliminator match.

 
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