Rajbiraj, June 23

Dakneshwari Dragon defeated Rupani Riders by two wickets to win the title of the second Mayor Cup Saptari Premier League here at the Public Bindeshwari School grounds today.

Electing to bat first, the Riders posted 115-9 in their allotted 20 overs before Dragon reached the target in the last ball of the match and lost eight wickets in the process. Along with the title, Dragon received Rs 200,000, while Riders earned Rs 100,000.

Chasing a tricky but easy target, Dragon came under pressure needing 34 runs from four overs and skipper Pushpa Thapa rose on the occasion with a nine-ball 21 that included three sixes. And Dragon were made to wait until the final ball to register the victory.

Opener Bishal Sushling top scored for Dragon with 38 runs, while Abhinash Karn (20) and Rahul Mandal (15) added valuable runs. Saidullah Ansari took three wickets for Riders, while Anoj Yadav grabbed two. Skipper Mehboob Alam and Pradip Paswan pocketed one each.

Earlier, Riders batsmen failed to build partnerships although five of them got good starts. Santosh Karki was the top scorer with 19 runs, while Sonu Ansari contributed 18.

Mukesh Yadav scored 16, while Hasim Ansari, skipper Alam and Anoj Yadav contributed 14 each.

For Dragon, skipper Pushpa Thapa, Dipesh Kandel and Prem Tamang grabbed two wickets each, while Robin Singh took one. Dragon skipper Thapa was named the man of the match, while his teammate Rahul Mandal was declared the player of the series and he received Rs 15,000.

Sonu Ansari of Riders was named the best batsman, while Robin Singh of Dragon got the best bowler’s award.

They earned Rs 10,000 each. Anuj Yadav, also from Dragon, was adjudged the emerging player and he got a cricket bat.

A total of five teams took part in the tournament organised by Saptari District Cricket Association under the aegis of Rajbiraj Municipality.