KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 7

Pokhara Rhinos thrashed Bhairahawa Gladiators by seven wickets to enter the final of the Bajaj Pulsar Everest Premier League here at the TU Stadium today.

The Gladiators posted a below-par 119-6 in their allotted 20 overs before the Rhinos reached 123-2 with 16 balls to spare in the second qualifier match. The Rhinos will face Chitwan Tigers in the final on Saturday.

Invited to take the first strike, the Gladiators failed to build partnerships and kept on losing wickets at regular interval. Skipper Sharad Vesawkar top scored with an unbeaten 32 off 33 balls that included two fours and a six.

Aarif Sheikh was the next best contributor with the bat scoring 24-ball 27. Kishore Mahato and Sahan Arachchige took two wickets each for Rhinos, while Nandan Yadav and Asela Gunaratne bagged one apiece.

In reply, Pokhara lost three wickets with 35 runs on the board before Sahan Arachchige and Bipin Rawal added 88 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket to take the team home.

Player-of-the-match Arachchige struck seven fours in his unbeaten 53 off 44 balls and Rawal scored 34-ball 40 not out with the help of three boundaries and a six. Bhuwan Karki took wickets for the Gladiators. A version of this article appears in the print on October 8, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.