Kushal Malla continued to make impact in Bhairahawa Gladiators squad as the allrounder picked up from talent hunt steered his side into the final of the Everest Premier League (EPL) on Thursday.

In the second Qualifier match at the TU Stadium, Gladiators eased to a six-wicket victory over a depleted Kathmandu Kings XI with Sharad Vesawkar maintaining his 100 record of making it to the final of the country’s Twenty20 franchise leagues. It was Malla who set the foundation for Gladiators victory after his 3-20 from four overs helped restrict Kathmandu to 120 all out in 20 overs. 

Gladiators lost opener Pradeep Airee (3) and Aarif Sheikh (5) cheaply in the chase but its Dutch recruit Ryan ten Doeschate and Indian signing Ravi Inder Singh negotiated with the target professionally, leading the team to 102-4 in 17 overs. In the title match on Saturday, Gladiators will take on Lalitpur Patriots, a team lead by Gyanendra Malla.

Vesawkar will now be chasing his second franchise-based league title having recently won the Pokhara Premier League on November 6. Vesawkar has now reached finals of all three editions of the EPL, claiming the first edition and finishing runner-up in the second. He had also made runner-up finish in the first edition of the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL).  He sat out of second edition of DPL.

National team middle-order mainstay Vesawkar is credited for brining in the best out of rookies in franchise leagues. This season Vesawkar saw Malla, who a day earlier won the Eliminator match for his side with the bat with a crucial 13-ball 27 in his 51-run unbroken stand with Rohit Kumar Paudel against Chitwan Tigers, showcase his budding talent. 

A modest Vesawkar considered himself lucky, more than willing to take credit of moulding Malla into a better player. “I think I have been lucky in terms of the team that I have been getting (in franchise competition), from foreign to local players. If you look at our team, everyone is contributing and that’s the best part,” said Vesawkar. “We were lucky to get Kushal on board. I believe that if we give young players a chance, they can do wonders. He (Malla) is not under pressure to think much and can really make impact in a few matches,” added the captain. 

Already without allrounder Amar Singh Routela and freshly-injured Sagar Pun, Kings XI was forced to bring in Sompal Kami, himself nursing an injury. Vesawkar struck early, clean bowling his opposite number Rohan Mustafa (six) before Malla broke the backbone of Kings XI batting. First he got rid of Naresh Budhayer (two) and next ball got the prized scalp of Kevin O’Brien for a duck. 

He returned again in the 11th over to dismiss opener Amit Shrestha (13) as Gladiators gained an upper hand in the game. Indian recruit Pradeep Sahu and Sandeep Rajali offered a brief resistance with a 33-run fifth wicket partnership but it never did the damage for Gladiators. Rajali top-scored for Kings XI with a 26-ball 27 with a six and a four, while Sahu hit a 22-ball 25 with three fours. Mohammad Naveed also took two wickets for Gladiators. 

Ten Doeschate and Singh made up for the early damage in Gladiators’ chase putting on 42 runs for the third wicket. Ten Doeschate scored 45 off 38 with five fours, while Singh scored 31 off 19 with three boundaries and a six. Paudel (nine) and Vesawkar (six) finished off the chase with unbeaten knocks. Samsad Sheikh took two wickets for Kings XI.

Everest Premier League Summary

Bhairahawa Gladiators 102-4 in 17 overs (R Doeschate 45, RI Singh 31; S Sheikh 2-30, P Sahu 1-15) beats Kathmandu Kings XI 100 in 20 overs (S Rajali 27, P Sahu 25; K Malla 3-20, M Naveed 2-20) by six wickets; Man-of-the-match: K Malla