CHITWAN, DECEMBER 13

Rapti defeated Bagmati by 11 runs and advanced to the final of the Gautam Buddha Cup here at the under-construction Gautam Buddha International Stadium today.

Rapti will now face Narayani in the last league round match tomorrow and the two sides will face each other in the final on Tuesday.

Narayani, who were not in action today, made it to the final, thanks to their super over win over Bagmati in inaugural match on Saturday.

Batting first, Rapti scored 129-9 in their 20 overs before packing Bagmati for 118 runs with two balls remaining.

Rapti made a poor start with the bat losing opener Kushal Bhurtel (three), trapped leg before the wicket by Sompal Kami, in the last ball of the first over with just five runs on the board.

Amit Shrestha and Sharad Vesawkar added 40 runs for the second wicket and skipper Binod Bhandari combined with Shrestha to share a 29-run partnership for the third wicket. Shrestha top scored for the team with 26 off 33 balls with the help of two each fours and sixes. Vesawkar struck three boundaries and a six in his 15-ball 21, while Bhandari scored 18-ball 21 that included a four and two sixes.

Kamal Singh Airee was the other batsman to score in double figures hitting two sixes. Jitendra Mukhiya (nine) and Abinash Bohara (seven) also chipped in important runs. Sompal Kami, Sagar Dhakal and Rashid Khan took two wickets each for Bagmati, while Bikram Sob and Lalit Rajbanshi claimed one apiece.

In reply, Bagmati lost last four wickets for just two runs to squander a chance to stay alive in tournament.

Man-of-the-match Abhinas Bohara and Jitendra Mukhiya claimed two wickets each in their last over to send Bagmati packing.

Sompal Kami top scored for Bagmati with 35 off 28 balls that included three fours and two sixes, while Anil Sah struck a four and two sixes in his 18-ball 22.

Skipper Gyanendra Malla (13), Rohit Poudel (13), Sunil Dhamala (11) and Pawan Sarraf (10) all got good starts but they simply failed to turn them into big knocks.

Apart from Bohara and Mukhiya, two other bowlers — Kamal Singh and Basant Karki — also took two wickets each. Surya Tamang also pocketed a wicket.