Panchakanya Tez 133 for 4 in 19 overs (Baskota 48 Aarif Sheikh 33* Airee 17* Kami 2-30) beat Jagadamba Rhinos 128 for 4 in 20 0vers (Kami 43* Chhetri 30 Gauchan 29* Kandel 3-12) by six wickets. Full Scorecard
An all-round performance from Jagadamba Rhino’s Sompal Kami went in vain as NPL champions Panchakanya Tez made a winning start to their WaiWai EPL campaign. Overcoming hiccups at different phases of the match, Tez defeated Rhinos by six wickets with an over to spare.
Being asked to bat first, Rhinos openers made a slow progress to their innings with an opening stand of 36 in 39 balls. Mahesh Chettri was finding fence once in a while but Amit Shrestha was struggling to connect most of the attacking strokes he attempted. Mahesh Chhetri scored a steady inning of 30 runs with the help of 5 boundaries including a couple of them through mid-wicket and one straight drive. Once Aarif Sheikh got rid of Shrestha, Sushil Kandel ran through the middle order, reducing Rhinos to 59 for 4 in 14th over.
With the team in desperate need of an inspiration, captain Shakti Gauchan promoted himself up to no.5 and immediately brought impetus back into the innings with some cheeky shots. Sompal Kami, batting at no. 6, started connecting some with the middle of his bat and it soon turned into a Shakti-Kami show for next half hour or so. A 70 run stand between the pair made sure Rhinos reach a respectable total of 129 mainly thanks to a last over heroics by Kami where he dispatched Karan KC for three sixes.
Rhinos made a brilliant start to their innings with Kami starting off with a double wicket maiden. Captain Sharad Vesawkar and Prithu Baskota, making a comeback after a long injury lay-off steadied the ship with a vital 63 runs stand. Vesawkar took an initiative early on pulling some half-trackers neatly to the boundary and Baskota joined him immediately with pushes over covers and leg-flicks. Aarif Sheikh continued the good work done by the skipper after his dismissal and provided a good support to Baskota, who looked to be in a great touch as he hit couple of sixes as well. After Baskota was dismissed for 48, with Tez needing 33 in 27, Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee showed nerve of steel as they chased the target with an over to spare. With the win, Tez open their accounts with 2 points to their name.
Tez will next take on Colors X-factors tomorrow while Rhinos will meet Kantipur Gurkhas the day after.
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