Pokhara, October 29

Hulas Kathmandu Royals and Pokhara Paltan registered their second victories in the Namaste Pokhara Premier League here today.

Royals defeated Biratnagar Titans by five wickets to inflict their third straight defeat, while home side Paltan beat Chitwan Rhinos by five wickets to hand them their second consecutive loss. Royals and Paltan joined Butwal Blasters on four points, while the loss put Titans in danger of elimination.

Batting first at the Pokhara Stadium, Titans posted 149-7 in their allotted 20 overs before Royals reached 151-5 with four balls to spare. Titans made a flying start with openers Muhammad Zaid Alam and Sunil Dhamala putting on 65 runs in 10 overs before the middle and lower order faltered.

Alam top scored with a quick fire 67 off 47 balls hitting seven boundaries and four sixes, while Dhamala struck a four and three sixes before Susan Bhari struck twice in the 11th over to reduce Titans to 69-2. Alam and Rajesh Pulami Magar added 47 runs for the third wicket before Titans lost seven wickets for just 33 runs. Magar hit one each four and six in his 27-ball 30.

Bhari (2-19), Basant Regmi (2-11) and Gaurav Tomar (2-29) shared six wickets among them for Royals.

In reply, Royals lost opener Jaikishan Kilsawal (six) with just 14 runs on the board before Amit Shrestha and Tomar took the match away from Titans with a 62-run partnership for the second wicket. Shrestha scored 35 off 33 balls with the help of five boundaries.

Shahab Alam removed Shrestha and Naresh Budayair (naught) in two consecutive deliveries but man-of-the-match Tomar stood firm at the other end and he combined with skipper Gyanendra Malla to add 40 runs for the fifth wicket to take the team to 116-4 in 15.4 overs.

He added another 24 runs for the fifth wicket with Prithu Baskota before being the victim of Sandeep Lamichhane, caught by Andrew Subikshan at a time when Royals needed run-a-ball 10 to win the match. Tomar scored 66 off 46 balls that included six fours and three sixes.

Baskota (five) and Amar Singh Rautela, who struck the winning six in the second ball of the final over bowled by Jitendra Mukhiya, took the team home without further loss. Rautela remained unbeaten on three-ball nine.

Sahab Alam took 2-21, while Kishore Mahato, Lamichhane and Jitendra Mukhiya claimed one wicket each for Titans.

In another match, national team skipper Paras Khadka’s Rhinos faced second straight defeat against the home side, led by Sharad Vesawkar. Batting first, Rhinos posted 146-5 in 20 overs before Paltan raced to 146-5 with 16 balls to spare.

Rhinos openers Hari Shankar Shah (three) and Anil Kumar Sah (16) were dismissed with just 25 runs on the board, and Sonu Tamang (21) faltered for the second straight match. Skipper Khadka and foreign recruit Sunny Patel shared a 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket as both the players struck three each fours and sixes. Khadka scored 32-ball 44, while Patel remained unbeaten on 46 off 27 balls. Bikram Bhusal took 2-33 for Paltan, while Mehboob Alam, Mohammad Naveed and Vesawkar claimed one wicket each.

In reply, Paltan made a disastrous start losing openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh without opening the accounts. Ravi Inder Singh and Rohit Kumar Paudel added 78 runs for the third wicket to revive the innings before Vesawkar scored a quick fire 37 off 20 balls to take the team close to victory.

Singh top scored with 65 off 48 balls that included eight fours and three sixes, while Vesawkar struck three each fours and sixes in his knock. Paudel scored 19 off 24 balls with the help of a four and a six. Binod Bhandari (four) and Mehboob Alam (seven) completed the formality adding 11 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket.

Rhinos skipper Paras Khadka, desperate to win the match after losing the opening tie against Butwal Blasters, used eight bowlers but that did not work for the cause. Karan KC returned with 3-19 against his home town team, while Sunny Patel and Shakti Gauchan pocketed a wicket each.