Babar Hayat and Rohan Mustafa put on a century stand for the second wicket as Chitwan Rhinos crushed Kathmandu Golden Warriors by 60 runs to enter the final of the Pokhara Premier League at the Pokhara grounds on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hayat and UAE's Mustafa shared a 119-run partnership as Rhinos posted a competitive score of 167-4 in their stipulated 20 overs. Rhinos lost their opener, Karan KC, for just one run in the second over. KC faced six balls before being caught behind by Jaykrishna Kolsawal off a Sushant Bhari delivery.

The Warriors, who had invited the Rhinos to bat first after winning the toss, were made to rue their decision after Hayat blasted a quickfire 70, while Mustafa remained not out on 59 runs. Hayat's blistering score came from just 47 balls and included six sixes and three fours.

Basanta Regmi finally took the wicket of Hayat in the 16th over, but by then, the damage had already been done. Aarif Sheikh and Sunny Patel scored 15 runs each, towards the end. Apart from Regmi and Bhari, Amar Routela also took a wicket for the Warriors, but their bowlers were brutally hit by the pair of Hayat and Mustafa.

Chasing the Rhinos’ total, the Warriors made a shaky start, losing both openers for a duck and they were eventually restricted to 107-9. Openers Kolsawal and Amit Shrestha both returned to the pavilion without opening their accounts. Kolsawal was caught off a Karan KC delivery, while Shrestha was bowled by Sunny Patel.

After Gaurav Tomar (6) was stumped off the last ball of the fourth over, skipper Gyanendra Malla and Pawan Sarraf added 44 runs for the fourth wicket, but they were never really into the run chase. When Malla fell for 40 and Sarraf was bowled for 27, the tailenders gave up on the game without putting up a fight and the Warriors eventually fell short of the Rhinos’ score by 60 runs.

Warriors lost their final five wickets for just 24 runs. Indian’s Sunny Patel took three wickets for the Rhinos, while Mustafa accounted for two.

With five wins from as many matches, the Rhinos, led by former national team skipper Paras Khadka, topped the table and reached the final of the tournament. Table-toppers are automatically guaranteed a place in the final with the second and third-placed teams playing the play-offs to secure the other berth.

Despite Monday’s defeat, the Warriors are still hopeful of reaching the play-offs. The Warriors will now have to depend on the last group game between Butwal Blasters and the Biratnagar Titans to secure their place in the play-offs. The Titans can also make it, provided they upset the Blasters by a huge margin. But, that looks to be a tall order as the Titans have just one win from four matches, compared to Blasters who have three victories.

With a game to play, Butwal Blasters have secured the second place with three wins and confirmed their place in the play-offs. The Blasters will next play against the Titans on Wednesday.