Lalitpur Patriots and Bhairahawa Gladiators shared points in the Everest Premier League as the match tied after Bhairahawa skipper Sharad Vesawkar smashed six in the last ball of the game in the Twenty20 cricket tournament played at the TU cricket ground in Kirtipur on Thursday.

Needing 18 runs in the last over for victory, captain Sharad Vesawkar smashed Rashid Khan for six in the first delivery he faced after Kushal Malla was dismissed in the third ball of the over. Malla collected two runs in the first two deliveries of the over before being dismissed in the following ball.

Sri Lankan batter Upul Tharanga hit six in the fourth ball and collected a single in the following delivery. Vesawkar then levelled the scores for Bhairahawa. The super over could not be played due to bad lights forcing the team to share points.

With their first win Bhairahawa moved to the top of the standings with four points from three matches. They had also shared points in the first game after their match against Pokhara Rhinos was washed out. Lalitpur are second from the bottom with one point.

Put into bat first, Lalitpur posted a challenging total of 177-7 inspired by foreign recruits Sandum Weerakkody and Azmatullah Omarzai. Bhairahawa's Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batter Upul Tharanga and Kushal Malla made decent contributions in the run chase.

Sri Lankan opener Weerakkody smashed 48-ball 58 that included two boundaries and five sixes. Afghani batter Omarzai played a quickfire knock of 42 off 22 deliveries that included two fences and four sixes. Sandip Jora and another Sri Lankan Oshada Fernando were other major contributors scoring 25-ball 38 and 19-ball 20.

Abinash Bohara pocketed two wickets for Bhairahawa while Dhammika Prasad, Krishna Karki and Aarif Sheikh picked one each.

Bhairahawa made a poor start to their run chase losing the first three wickets for 28 runs. Sri Lanaka's 36-year-old veteran Tharanga steadied the innings with an unbeaten 67 runs off 44 deliveries. The man-of-the-match smashed six fours and three sixes. He and Malla played a crucial 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket before the latter was dismissed for 19-ball 35. Aarif Sheikh and opener Tamiq Iqbal were other remarkable contributors for Bhairahawa scoring 28 runs and 14 runs respectively.

Lalitpur pacer Khan pocketed three wickets while Rijan Dhakal grabbed two wickets. Khan gave away 34 runs in his four-over spell.

In the early kickoff, Chitwan Tigers edged Kathmandu Kings XI by three wickets to register second win in a row and level on points with leader Bhairahawa. However, they are separated by net run rates. Kathmandu who have opened the tournament with a win are fourth with two points.

Invited to bat first, Kathmandu scored 141-8 before Chitwan surpassed the target losing seven wickets with eight balls to spare. Opener Subash Khakurel contributed 35 runs for Kathmandu, who lost wickets in regular intervals. He hit two fours and sixes each facing 34 deliveries. Raju Rijal and Janak Prakash were other major contributors scoring 28 and 26 runs respectively. Kathmandu also got 17 extra runs.

Sagar Dhakal was the pick of Chitwan bowler claiming four wickets. He gave away 21 runs in his four over bowling. Karim Janat pocketed two wickets.

Chasing the target, collective batting effort gave Somapl Kami-led Chitwan victory. Rajesh Pulami scored unbeaten 29-ball 26 while Dilip Nath and Kamal Airee scored equal 23 runs apiece. Airee remained unbeaten facing 15 balls while Nath faced 26 deliveries. Karim Janat scored 21 runs while opener Mohammad Shahzad hit 17 runs. They also got 17 extra runs.

Jitendra Mukhiya and Ryan Burl claimed two wickets each. Burl conceded 13 runs in his four-over bowling while Mukhiya gave away 29 runs in his 3.4 overs spell.

There will be two matches on Friday with Biratnagar Warriors taking on Lalitpur Patriots in the early fixture and Chitwan Tigers will vie against Pokhara Rhinos in the late game.