Gyanendra Malla finally ended his long wait for domestic franchise Twenty20 title after the national team vice-captain led Lalitpur Patriots to Everest Premier League title at a noisy Tribhuvan University Stadium on Saturday.

In what was a fitting finale for one of the most popular Twenty20 tournaments of the country, Patriots defeated Sharad Vesawkar’s Bhairahawa Gladiators to win the third edition of the tournament. Malla has now won first franchise Twenty20 title in his seventh attempt having previously reached finals in two separate tournaments.

Vesawkar-skippered Panchakanya Tez was the winner when it defeat Malla’s Colors X Factor team in the first edition of EPL, while early this year Sompal Kami-led Team Chauraha Dhangadhi had beaten his Kathmandu Goldens side in the Dhangadhi Premier League final. Along with the title, Patriots collected a cash purse of Rs 2.4 million and Gladiators earned Rs 1 million.

The final defeat was once again sour for Vesawkar who had narrowly lost the title to Paras Khadka’s Biratnagar Warriors in the last edition. Had Gladiators won Saturday’s final, Vesawkar would have won his second consecutive franchise title as he had guided Pokhara Paltan to Pokhara Premier League title on November 6.

In a final that was witnessed by almost 20,000 spectators, Indian opener Jaykishan Kolsawala made the most of a drop chance steering Patriots to 155 all out in 19.1 overs scoring a half century. Man-of-the-final Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi then took three crucial wickets with his left arm spin as Gladiators were restricted to 141-9 in 20 overs.

Gladiators paid for its sloppyness in the field after three dropped catches enabled Patriots to cross a challenging 150-run mark. Kushal Malla’s drop of Kolsawala was the expensive of all. Malla spilled an easy catch at the square leg when Kolsawala was batting at six and the wicketkeeper batsman capitalised the opportunity sticking to the wicket until the 18^th over.

Kolsawala and his compatriot Gaurav Tomar headed into the final boasting two century stands in the tournament for them. The Indian duo didn’t manage to build a huge partnership but gave a desired start to Patriots adding 41 runs before Tomar fell to Ryan ten Doeschate after scoring 23 off  19 with three fours and a six.

Patriots then lost Malla (10) and Pawan Sarraf (five) cheaply but Kolsawala added another 39 runs for the fourth wicket with Sandeep Jora to lay foundation for what ultimately was a winning total. Jora, who was dropped on two by Aarif Sheikh and later on 16 by Rohit Kumar Paudel, scored 24 from 11 balls with two sixes and a four.

Kolsawala scored 57 off 52 with three sixes and as many boundaries. Gladiators managed to contina Patriots in the final three overs picking up five wickets at the expense of just 12 runs. Krishna Karki picked up 3-15 from three overs for Gladiators.

Opener Pradeep Airee gave Patriots a decent reply after he and Ten Doeschate (14) began with a 33-run first wicket partnership. Rajbanshi broke the stand sending back Ten Doeschate in the fifth over. Airee played some delightful strokes but was undone by a sharp catch by Malla at midwicket off Yogendra Singh Karki. Airee made 34 off 22 with four boundaries and a six.

Aarif Sheikh (12) continued to falter in the tournament stumped by Kolsawala off Sarraf. Ravi Inder Singh, who ended up as tournament’s best player and rode a TVS motorcycle, kept Gladiators in the chase sharing 32 runs for the fourth wicket with Vesawkar before Sarraf struck again. Sarraf removed Singh to trigger the struggle for Gladiators.

Rajbanshi put Patriots at edge bowling Vesawkar (14) around his legs and the lef arm spinner sent back hard-hitting United Arab Emirates allrounder Mohammad Naveed (10). Singh made 29 off 32 with a six and a four, while Kushal (16) was another notable scorer for Gladiators. Yogendra Singh Karki also took two wickets for Gladiators.

Khadka takes a dig at EPL organiser

National cricket team skipper Paras Khadka took a dig at Everest Premier League (EPL) organiser for not meeting expectations according to the hype created in the build-up to the tournament. Organised by Everest Premier League Pvt Ltd, the six-team city-based franchise league concluded on Saturday with Lalitpur Patriots beating Bhairhawa Gladiators to win the title.

Khadka, whose Biratnagar Warriors crashed out from the league stage of the tournament, said the cash prize set aside for the tournament was not in line to the investment made by franchise owners. “Hats off to the team franchises because they have roped in few of the best cricketers in the world but there is a fact that these players don’t come with low price,” said Khadka after the final.

“On the field the tournament went well but off the field there are lot of things which need to be addressed. I probably feel the tournament could have been better in terms of prize money. The organiser had tagged the tournament as the biggest in Nepal but the cash prize given to the teams could have been bigger,” added Khadka.

“The man-of-the-series got a motorcycle but there is nothing for other individuals, not the best batsman or the best bowler. It is a bit disappointing because we were expecting bigger prize money and more perks for the players,” Khadka said adding there were few events during the tournament which had to be looked after carefully.

“There were few incidents that happened with few players, coaches and even my family. This is a place where everyone knows each other and there was no need to put some tougher regulations. I personally feel that this tournament has set a benchmark on the field but off the field it should have been better,” the national team captain said.