The U-19 cricketer Rohit Kumar Paudel produced a late fireworks to hand Bhairahawa Gladiators a thrilling four-wicket win over Lalitpur Patriots as Sharad Vesawkar-led  team climbed to the top of Everest Premier League twenty20 cricket on Thursday.

In the second match at the TU Stadium, Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof finally breathed a sigh of relief after the allrounder himself starred with both bat and ball giving Kathmandu Kings the first victory in three games.

On a day when both the matches were decided in the final over, Rohit stole the limelight with his brutal hitting. Patriots managed a challenging 141-9 on the back of a half century from Yogesh Nagar. Gladiators snatched victory in the last ball of their innings, finishing at 145-6.

Gladiators had a sluggish start and were reeling at 49-4 with skipper Vesawkar (13) one of the top four batsmen losing wickets to leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. Their Indian recruit Punit Bista and Aarif Sheikh kept the team in hunt with a 59-run fifth wicket stand. Paceman Subodh Bhati then bowled Bista as Gladiators needed 34 to win from the last 15 balls.

Paudel stepped in and hit Bhati for a boundary in the first ball and collected two double in the next to leaving Gladiators with 25 to get from the last two overs. Aarif Sheikh handed back strike to Paudel in the 19th over bowled by Mehboob Alam and what unfolded next looked surreal for the veteran fast bowler.

Paudel smashed Alam for three boundaries and a six in the next five balls as Gladiators needed just seven to win from the last six balls. After hitting Bhati for a boundary, Paudel ran himself out in the fifth ball of the last over and new man Krishna Karki got a top edge in the final ball when Gladiators had needed just a single.

Paudel struck five boundaries and a six in his 11-ball 31. Man-of-the-match Bista hit a 38-ball 50 five fours and two sixes. Shiekh was unbeaten on a 22-ball 27 with a six and a four. Nagar took two wickets.

“I had been watching his (Rohit) progress of late. Its good to see that the youngsters like Paudel, Aasif and Puneet are winning games for us,” said Vesawkar.

Earlier, Nagar top scored for Patriots with a 33-ball 54 hitting seven fours and a six, while skipper Gyanendra Malla made 42 off 29 with three sixes and two boundaries. Opener Jaykishan Kolsawala (14) was the only other batsman to reach double figures. Dipesh Shrestha took 3-24 with Sheikh and Punit Mehra taking two scalps apiece for Gladiators.

Later in the day, Chitwan Tigers made 142-7 before Kings XI replied with 143-7 as Maharoof finally lived up to his star billings. Kings XI were outplayed by Patriots and Gladiators in their first two matches but it was not going to be the case against Tigers who now have lost their second straight match.

After losing opener Sagar Pun (five) early on, Maharoof stepped in and together with Amit Shrestha put on 67-run partnership for the second wicket. While Shrestha made 38 from 27 balls with seven boundaries, Maharoof scored 39 from 33 with three boundaries and two sixes.

Sagar Kumar (23), Siddhant Lohani (12) and Akshu Fernando (eight not out) held nerves to hand Kings the deserved victory. “There was lot of expectations from the owners and franchise and it was payback time for us. We are glad that the boys pull up their socks,” said Maharoof after the match.

Opener Dilip Nath had top scored for Tigers scoring a 40-ball 46 with five boundaries and a six. Sabez Khan hit two sixes in his 25-ball 27, while Yogendra Singh Karki (17) and Kamal Singh Airee (12) were their next best scorers. Maharoof took 3-21 from four overs for Kings XI and walked away with the man-of-the-match award.

Everest Premier League summaries

Bhairahawa Gladiators 145-6 in 20 overs (P Bista 50, RK Paudel 31, A Sheikh 27 not out; Y Nagar 2-31, S Lamichhane 1-13) beat Lalitpur Patriots 141-9 in 20 overs (Y Nagar 54, G Malla 42; D Shrestha 3-24, P Mehra 2-17) by four wickets

Man-of-the-match: P Bista

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Kathmandu Kings XI 143-7 in 19.2 overs (F Maharoof 39, A Shrestha 38; P Gupta 2-23, P Kumar 1-26) beat Chitwan Tigers 142-7 in 20 overs (D Nath 46, S Khan 27; F Maharoof 3-21, S Pun 1-20) by three wickets

Man-of-the-match: F Maharoof