A target of 176 runs for Chitwan Rhinos
With the contribution of three foreign players, Jaykishan Kolshawala, William Bosisto and Chadwick Walton, Karnali Yaks set a target of 176 runs to Chitwan Rhinos in the eliminator match of Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket.
After Chitwan Rhinos captain Kushal Malla won the toss at Kirtipur University Cricket Ground on Wednesday, Karnali was invited to bat and scored 175 runs by losing 6 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs.
Although he is familiar in Nepali cricket, Kolshawala, who is playing for the first time in the tournament, scored 53 off 39 balls, Bosisto scored 52 off 39 balls and Walton scored an unbeaten 46 off 23 balls. Wicketkeeper-opening batter Kolshawala hit 6 fours and 2 sixes and Bosisto, who was in high form, hit 3 fours and 2 sixes. Walton hit 4 fours and 3 sixes. Rit Gautam, who got a second chance in the
competition, was again dismissed for zero. Even Gulshan Jha could not open the account. Jason Maqsood was dismissed for 14 off 12 balls and Dev Khanal scored 3 runs. From Chitwan, Sohail Tanveer took 2 wickets for 24 runs in 4 overs. Sharad Bheshavkar, Ravi Bopara and captain Kushal Mall had 1 wicket each. In the
round robin league, both Chitwan and Karnali reached the playoffs by winning the same 4 matches. Chitwan was in the third position due to good run rate. The winner between Chitwan and Karnali will play in Qualifier 2. The second match of the day will be between Sudurpaschim Royals and Janakpur Bolts. The winning team will reach the final, while the losing team will play against the winner of Chitwan and Karnali in Qualifier 2.
Chitwan has called veteran Sharad back to the team. He has been played in place of Deepak Bohra. Similarly, Luke Benkenstein has been played in place of Basil Hamid. From Karnali, Kolshawala has replaced Babar Hayat in Karnali's playing XI. Karnali defeated Chitwan by 6 wickets in the
round robin league. After losing the first two matches, Karnali won the next four consecutive matches and won the first match against Chitwan.
