Sports
Patriots confirm spot in first Qualifier
Lalitpur Patriots confirmed its place in the Qualifier of the Everest Premier League with a six-wicket hammering of Bhairhawa Gladiators in what was their last league match at the Tribhuvan University Stadium on Sunday.Adarsha Dhakal
Lalitpur Patriots confirmed its place in the Qualifier of the Everest Premier League with a six-wicket hammering of Bhairhawa Gladiators in what was their last league match at the Tribhuvan University Stadium on Sunday.
Boasting a healthy net run rate, Gyanendra Malla-led Patriots are all but certain to finish at the top of the table with eight points from five league matches and will now wait to find its opponent in the first Qualifier. The winner of the Qualifier will directly reach the final and runner-up will meet the winner of the Eliminator match which is yet to be decided.
In a three-team dogfight for the second spot, Gladiators can still be pushed to the third spot if Kathmandu Kings XI win tournament’s last league match against Biratnagar Warriors by a huge margin on Monday. Warriors itself can overtake the second spot if it defeats Kings XI, irrespective of the victory margin.
While Kings XI has six points, an exponentially huge margin victory can take it to the top spot on net run-rate tying on points with Patriots. Fifth-placed Chitwan Tigers, meanwhile, can best seal a place in the Eliminator provided the Warriors lose its game and fall behind in net run-rate.
Indian recruit Sunny Patel used all his experience playing in Nepali franchise leagues to take first five-wicket haul to bundle out Gladiators for tournament’s third lowest total of 92 in 19 overs. Already in the front foot in chase of a low total, Patriots reached 96-4 in 19.2 overs. The victory was huge morale booster for Patriots which was already without key leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane—who left for Australia to play Big Bash league—and saw its allrounder Gaurav Tomar banned from bowling due to illegal action.
Patriots skipper Malla said the entire team is putting in a huge effort. “The first match served as a reality check because it helped us identify our mistakes. The youngsters have self belief that they can do it and the environment is really very good. We are improving with confidence day by day,” said Malla. “The players have been given role and they have been performing pretty well. For us, more than an individual, it has all been about team. The boys, however, are circumspect on what they require in the Qualifier,” Malla added.
United Arab Emirates paceman Mohammad Naveed gave early breakthrough removing in-form Patriots opener Gaurav Tomar (nine) and two wickets from Ryan ten Doeschate reduced Gyanendra Malla’s side to 24-3 in 3.3 overs. Pawan Sarraf and another opener Jaykishan Kolsawala added 42 runs for the fourth wicket as the former did most of the scoring. Sarraf made 25 off 36 balls with two fours and a six before he was bowled by Gladiators skipper Sharad Vesawkar.
Sandeep Jora and Kolsawala completed the chase adding 30 runs for the fifth wicket. Jora struck a 10-ball 18 with two boundaries and a six while Kolsawala remained unbeaten on 22 off 27. His watchful innings included one four.
Earlier, Patel put Patriots in the front foot sending back Mohammad Naveed—sent into No 1 as pinch hitter—and Pradeep Airee in consecutive overs. Tournament’s leading run-scorer Ravi Inder Singh played some blazing strokes smashing U-19 spinner Pawan Sarraf for 20 runs in sixth over to suggest he was yet again ready to make it big. Singh has so far scored 273 runs including a century against Pokhara Rhinos.
However, Yogendra Singh Karki bowled Singh in the next over as Gladiators began to lose momentum after his 34-run partnership for the third wicket with Ryan ten Doeschate. Patel returned and trapped Vesawkar (one) leg before and Karki’s dismissal of Ten Doeschate virtually ended Gladiators challenge.
Ten Doeschate topscored with a 36-ball 37 hitting three fours and a six, while Singh’s 15-ball 25 included three fours and two sixes. Patel, who polished off the tail, returned with figures of 5-12 and medium-pacer Karki was effective with 2-6 from three overs.
Patel was a delighted man and said he never felt like playing away from home. “Its always a good feeling when your team is on a winning side and you perform for the team. The good thing is that the love which I have been getting from Nepal has made me feel like a local boy,” said Patel.
Gladiators captain Vesawkar said his side lacked partnership in the game. “We kept losing wickets in the
powerplays and never managed to build partnership. There needed to be someone who could have at least stayed with Ryan (Ten Doeschate),” Vesawkar said.
Summary
Lalitpur Patriots 96-4 in 14.2 overs (P Sarraf 25, J Kolsawala 22 not out; R ten Doeschate 2-15, M Naveed 1-21) beats Bhairahawa Gladiators 92 all out in 19 overs (R ten Doeschate 37, RI Singh 25; S Patel 5-12, YS Karki 2-6, R Khan 2-14) by six wickets
Man-of-the-match: S Patel