The Chitwan Tigers defeated the Pokhara Rhinos by four wickets in the final and won the fourth edition of the Everest Premier League in Kirtipur.
Chasing a low target of 112 runs, the Tigers got off to a horrible start with Hasim Ansari and Karim Janat getting out for ducks. Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad tried to up the ante but his wicket on the last ball of the fourth over threatened to derail Tiger’s chances of winning the title.
However, middle-order batsman Bhim Sharki brought his best to the table and powered the Tigers to the championship in partnership with Dilip Nath and Rajesh Pulami. None of those three batsmen could stay at the crease till the end though and the Tigers’ skipper Sompal Kami took the team home with a boundary on the only ball he needed to bat.
Earlier in the day, the Tigers won the toss and asked the Rhinos to bat first.
They got off to a decent start with the opening pair of Richard Levi and Bipin Rawal going hard at the bowlers. However, after the opening pair went back to the pavilion by the end of the fifth over, Sahan Arachchige and Rit Gautam went quickly to put the Rhinos under pressure before the skipper Binod Bhandari and Asela Gunaratne steadied the ship.
Their partnership was followed by another collapse and the Rhinos were pushed to the brink by the end of the first half of the game.
From the Tigers’ side, Nepal’s pacer Kamal Airee and Sri Lankan leg spinner Seekkuge Prasanna were the pick of the bowlers as they picked four and two wickets respectively.
Both the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series went to the Tigers’ players as Kamal Aire was adjudged Man of the Match of the final while Sagar Dhakal was awarded the Man of the Series award.