Sports
Chauraha ease to eight-wicket win
Dhangadi Team Chauraha eased to eight wicket win over Mahendranagar United in the Dhangadi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament on Tuesday.Dhangadi Team Chauraha eased to eight wicket win over Mahendranagar United in the Dhangadi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament on Tuesday.
Invited to bat first, Mahendranagar were indebted to a late hitting from Puneet Mehra and Bhuvan Karki to post 131-8. Chauraha top order then completed the chase in 18 overs. Kathmandu Goldens lead the six-team standings with four points from two matches. Chauraha also have four points from three games but are in second place due to inferior net run-rate. Mahendranagar are fourth with two points, behind CYC Attariya on net run-rate.
Binod Bhandari’s team were reeling at 69-6 by the 13th over with man-of- the-match Lalit Singh Bhandari doing the most of the damage by taking three key wickets. Skipper Binod (11) and Aasif Sheikh appeared to have provided Mahendranagar a good start with a 22-run stand of the opening wicket. But Lalit trapped Aasif leg before wicket to trigger a dramatic collapse that saw Mahendranagar lose six wickets for 47 runs.
But a 53-run seventh wicket stand between Indian recruit Mehra and Karki helped them post a reasonable total on the board. Both batsmen lost their wickets in the last over. Mehra top scored with 40, his 22 ball knock included four boundaries and two sixes, while Karki scored a composed 32 off 40 deliveries. The only other contribution of note came from Prithu Baskota, who scored run-a-ball 24. Lalit finished with figures of 4-37. Ahamed clobbered six fours, while Dhamala slammed three fours and two sixes.
Another UAE international Rohan Mustafa also scored 39 quick runs before falling prey to Avinash Karn. Mustafa hit three sixes and a four. Sonu Tamang joined Dhamala and the two batsmen completed the run chase with 12 balls to spare. Tamang hit one six and a four in his 7-ball 15.
Chauraha openers Ashfaq Ahmed and Sunil Dhamala laid the foundation for an easy chase putting on 47 runs for the first wicket. The UAE international was caught and bowled by Mehra after scoring 30 off 24 deliveries but Dhamala carried his bat with an unbeaten 46 off 47 balls.
Summary
Chauraha 132-2 in 18 overs (S Dhamala 46*, R Mustafa 39; P Mehra 1-22, A Karn 1-26) beat Mahendranagar 131-8 in 20 overs (P Mehra 40, B Karki 32; L Bhandari 4-37, S Sheikh 1-1) by eight wickets; Man-of-the-match: LS Bhandari (Chauraha)