A whirlwind Sunny Patel knock and a composed half century from opener Jaykishan Kolsawala helped CYC Attariya beat Biratnagar Kings by 10 runs and all but secure a Qualifier berth in the Dhangadhi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in Dhangadhi on Monday.

Batting first Attariya posted a daunting 148-3 in 20 overs and while Kings made a valiant effort in their chase they still fell short of the winning target, finishing on 138-8 in 20 overs. The result meant Attariya climbed to second place with six points, one behind leaders Kathmandu Goldens who have already confirmed a Qualifier berth with seven points from four matches. Rupandehi Challengers and Mahendranagar United also sealed the playoff berths, while Kings and Dhangadhi Stars are out of the race.

Challengers, who have already played their five games, also have six points but are in third place while United pipped Kings, who also have four points, to fourth place on better net run-rate. The last league game between the Goldens and Attariya on Tuesday will decide the group winners. Considering the current net run-rate, not even a heavy Attariya defeat will it be sufficient for Challengers to leapfrog into second place. Top two teams to make the playoff will play the first Qualifier with a final spot at stake.

The third and fourth-placed teams will play the Eliminator match with the winners to play against the losers of the Qualifier for a place in the final.

Royal Challengers players celebrate a dismissal of Dhangadhi Stars player. POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA

Opener Jitendra Thakuri (13) and Kolsawala laid the foundation for a big Attariya total with a sedate 53-run stand in 9.3 overs. Attariya lost Sandeep Jhora (3) and skipper Dipendra Singh Airee (10) to be 79-3 in the 12.5  overs. In came Patel and together with Kolsawala, his Indian compatriot, put on an unbroken 69-run fourth wicket partnership in just in 43 balls to propel the Attariya total. Patel was at his brutal best clobbering five fours and four sixes in his 31-ball 61. Patel was named man-of-the-match for his explosive knock. Kolsawala remained unbeaten on 51, his 50-ball innings was studded with five boundaries and two sixes. Susan Bhari and Samsad Sheikh took one wicket each for Kings.

In reply, five of the Kings batsman got the starts they looked for but almost all of them failed to convert those into big scores. No 3 batsman Aasif Sheikh top scored for the Kings with 34-ball 39 with three fours and two sixes. Prithu  Baskota also made 26-ball 27 with four hits to the fence. Avinash Yadav (14), opener Asad Pathan (13) and skipper Karan KC (12) all got starts but did not last longer as Kings eventually fell just short of their target. Bhuvan Karki and  Dipendra Rawat took three wickets each for Attariya.

Challengers earn playoff berth

Dhangadhi: Rupandehi Challengers secured a playoff berth after defeating Dhangadhi Stars by 39 runs in the Dhangadhi Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament match at the Fapla cricket ground on Monday.

Electing to bat first, Challengers were bowled out for what looked like a modest 106 total in a match reduced to 15 overs due to wet outfield. But they defended the total by restricting Stars for 67 runs in 14 overs. Sumit Maharjan top scored for Challengers with a fiery 33 runs, his 24-ball knock included two sixes and as many fours. Together with Binod Bhandari, Maharjan put on a 57-run stand for the third wicket. Bhandari played a second  fiddle to Maharjan and scored 25-ball 24. Challengers’ star batsman Babar Hayat, the Hong Kong national, earlier chipped in 10-ball 19 with two sixes and a four while Bikram Sob made 11. Sompal Kami, Bipin Khatri and Pawan Sarraf took two wickets each while Amir Hayat and Rohan Mustafa claimed one apiece for Stars.

Stars lost half their squad by the 10th over to be reeling at 49-5 with Sarraf  (15), Kami (11) and Sandeep Rajali (10) among the runs. Stars then lost the remaining five wickets adding just 18 runs to the total. Lalit Singh Bhandari  was pick of the Challengers bowlers with figures of 3-5 off three overs. Man-of-the-match Sob snared two wickets while skipper Basanta Regmi, Puneet Mehra and Bhim Sharki claimed one apiece.

Summaries

Rupandehi Challengers 106-10 in 15 overs (S Maharjan 33, B Bhandari 24; P Sarraf 2-2, B Khatri 2-14) beat Dhangadhi Stars 67 in 14 overs (P Sarraf 15, S Kami 11; L Bhandari 3-5, B Sob 2-12) by 39 runs

Man-of-the-match: B Sob

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CYC Attariya 148-3 in 20 overs (S Patel 61*, J Kolsawala 51*; S Bhari 1-18, S Sheikh 1-21) beat Biratnagar Kings 138-8 in 20 overs (A Sheikh 39, P Baskota 27; D Rawat 3-20, B Karki 3-35) by 10 runs

Man-of-the-match: S Patel