Sports
Goldens, United eye final spot
Mahendrangar United take on Kathmandu Goldens in the second Qualifier of the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL) on Thursday for a pace in the final of the Dhangadhi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament.Adarsha Dhakal
Mahendrangar United take on Kathmandu Goldens in the second Qualifier of the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL) on Thursday for a pace in the final of the Dhangadhi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament.The match was postponed for a day after heavy rain and storm forced the abandonment after only two overspossible on Wednesday. The match will restart with a toss.With visibility getting poor, heavy storm initially forced the players off the field before heavy rainfall confirmed an early closure. United , were 8-1 in two overs before the game was called off. In case of no-result on Thursday then Gyanendra Malla-led Kathmandu Goldens will make it to the final on better win percentage they had in the league stage.
While Goldens had won four league matches, Binod Bhandari’s United have won two. The winners of the second Qualifier will meet defending champions Team Chauraha Dhangadhi in the final. Dhangadhi had ended Goldens unbeaten run in the first Qualifier with a stunning one-wicket victory on Tuesday. United had edged CYC Attariya by 15 runs in the Eliminator, also on Tuesday.
The Goldens-United clash is expected to offer a high-voltage entertainment as both teams have posed as title contenders. Barring the two washed out games—one of them against Goldens—United have looked strong on paper although they lost one match against Chauraha. They got the better of title contenders Biratnagar Kings in their first game and were too strong for Rupandehi Challengers. United boast a long batting lineup that begins with the opening pair of Bhandari and Aashif Sheikh. Punit Bista, Aarif Sheikh, Puneet Mehra, Rohit Kumar Paudel, Karan KC and Bhuwan Karki are all capable of contributing with the bat. KC, Avinash Karn, Bista, Mehra, Robeen Chhetri, Karki and Aarif provide them with a good bowling option.
Skipper Malla has so far looked the most inform batsman in the Goldens squad and the captain would like other batsmen to step up as well. Malla was the only batsman who played with some intent in the first Qualifier against Chauraha as the team was folded for a below-par 127-9 in 20 overs. Openers Amit Shrestha and Subodh Bhati along with Bhupendra Thapa, Naresh Budhayer, Sunny Patel and Pranit Thapa all can bat but everyone is yet to contribute together.
Bhati, Rashid Khan and Santosh Bhatta will lead the fast bowling attack for Goldens with Shahab Alam and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi taking care of the spin option. However, with the tournament not yielding big scores in the latter stages due to weather and a deteriorating pitch conditions, the toss once again will be crucial.