Lalitpur Patriots and Bhairahawa Gladiators entered the Everest Premier League (EPL) playoffs with contrasting victories at the TU Stadium on Wednesday.

While Gladiators edged Biratnagar Warriors by four wickets in a low scoring match, Patriots thumped Kathmandu Kings XI by 10 wickets in the day’s second game. Patriots and Gladiators have six points each but the former leads the table on better net run-rate. Gladiators, which registered third straight win, has played a game less and is on course to grab first Qualifier spot. 

Gladiators rode on a man-of-the-match performance from its United Arab Emirates (UAE) recruit Mohammad Naveed who took full advantage of the morning conditions to bundle out Paras Khadka-led Warriors for 91 runs–the second lowest total of the tournament–in 18.4 overs. Warriors looked like pulling it off after it took the game to last over but Naveed and Rohit Kumar Paudel kept cool head leading the team to 92-6 in 19.4 overs. 

Warriors also struggled in its last two games chasing down 105 in the last over against Patriots in the tournament opener. On Tuesday it restricted Pokhara Rhinos to 84-7 but needed Super Over to win the match after being out for 84. “We are not batting well at all, there’s no other reason. Bowling and fielding units are pushing themselves but we haven’t been able to bat as well as we could,” said Khadka. 

Naveed and another medium pacer Krishna Karki made the best use of moist conditions picking up two wickets each to reduce Warriors to 20-4. Warriors played under pressure throughout before its innings shut out for a paltry total. “I think we gained upper hand after our fast bowlers used the morning conditions to the fullest and took the first four wickets early on. We know the class of Naveed. He is a great bowler and did the job for us today,” said Gladiators skipper Sharad Vesawkar. 

Warriors’ Dutch recruit Roelof van der Merwe top scored with 25 off 29 balls with two boundaries. Karan KC (18) and Sumit Maharjan (15) were other notable scorers for Warriors. Naveed returned with figures of 4-14 from four overs. Avinash Bohora also took two wickets. 

Gladiators was cautious in the chase with Van der Merwe using all his experience and picking up two wickets up front including that of opener Pradeep Airee (10) and Ravi Inder Singh (12). From 43-3, Ryan ten Doeschate and Vesawkar played sensible in a 34-run fourth wicket stand. Doeschate scored 20 off 33 and Vesawkar, who was bowled by Robeen Chhetri, chipped in 16. Paudel (seven) and Naveed (three), however, completed the chase.

Summaries

Bhairahawa Gladiators 92-6 in 19.4 overs (R ten Doeschate 20, S Vesawkar 16; R van der Merwe 2-10, R Chhetri 1-12) beats Biratnagar Warriors 91 all out in 18.4 overs (R van der Merwe 25, K KC 18; M Naveed 4-14, A Bohora 2-18, K Karki 2-19) by six wickets

Man-of-the-match: M Naveed

Lalitpur Patriots 115-0 in 10.3 overs (G Tomar 80 not out, J Kolswala 27 not out; J Mukhiya 0-24, P Sahu 2-16) beats Kathmandu Kings XI 109 all out in 19.5 overs (K O’Brien 42, S Lohani 21; P Sarraf 3-22, R Khan 2-17, YS Karki 2-28) by 10 wickets

Man-of-the-match: P Sarraf