Pokhara Paltan started their Pokhara Premier League title defence in style with a nine-wicket win over Kathmandu Golden Warriors at the Pokhara grounds on Sunday.

The second edition of the league, originally scheduled to begin on Saturday, got underway only a day later due to adverse weather conditions.

Set a target of 116 runs, Pokhara chased it down for the loss of one wicket. Aasif Sheikh (14) was the only wicket to fall for Pokhara as he was trapped leg-before by Sushan Bhari in the fifth over when they had put 31 runs on the board.

The other opener, Kushal Bhurtel, anchored the home side to victory scoring 65 runs from 43 balls with the help of four fours and five sixes. Pokhara’s foreign recruit Ravi Inder Singh of India remained unbeaten on 38 as they raced to 119-1 in just 14.1 overs.

Earlier, put in to bat first, Kathmandu Golden Warriors had lost wickets at regular intervals in the damp conditions following rains in the last two days. They managed a paltry 115-8 in their 20 overs.

Indian all-rounder Suboth Bhati came to the middle when his side were struggling at 45-5 in the 10th over. Bhati then smashed four fours and clubbed as many sixes as he top-scored for Kathmandu with 45 runs from 29 balls to rescue his side.

However, Bhati became the seventh wicket to fall, leaving his side still struggling at 98-7. Kathmandu were restricted to 115-8 after other tailenders failed to make much of a contribution.

Rashid Khan, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi and Kushal Malla all picked two wickets each for Pokhara. Prathamesh Dake and Sarabjit Ladda shared a wicket apiece.

Kathmandu Golden’s batting collapse disappointed their skipper Gyanendra Malla. “We did not expect a batting collapse. We could have added additional 20-30 runs if we had built partnerships,” he said.

“We simply failed to click during the entire innings after losing early wickets, and fell short of our own expectations,” Malla said, blaming the damp conditions for their downfall.

Malla admitted the loss in the opening match put his side under pressure. But he is confident of turning the tables. “We’ve got a long way to go, with four matches remaining in the tournament,” he said.

The team finishing at the top of the league standings will qualify directly to the final, with those in the second and third places taking on each other in a play-off for the final.

In contrast, winning captain Sarad Vesawkar was content with his side’s performance. “It was a crucial toss to win. Our bowlers bowled at the right places and were able to get wickets early on,” he said.

“It was a challenging target based on the conditions, but Kushal’s innings was amazing. It eased off the pressure when a young lad in the team performs,” he said, giving a leg-up to the 22-year-old batsman. “He has been working hard for the last six months, and we have to promote players like him.”

Bhurtel, who was adjudged man of the match for his unbeaten fifty, is keen to carry on the momentum. “I wanted to get the team off to a good start, and I am happy to do so in the inaugural match of the tournament. We hope to do better as the tournament progresses.”

The tournament continues on Monday with Biratnagar Titans taking on Expert Dhangadi in the first match at 9am. That will be followed by the match between Kathmandu Golden Warriors and Butwal Blasters at 12.45pm.