Gurkhas came into the match buoyed by their five-wicket victory over Tez in the last league game but the semi-final at the Fapla grounds slipped out of their grasp too quickly. Left-arm spinner Karki provided the impetus as Tez bowlers struck regularly to bundle out Gurkhas for 116 in 40.2 overs. Tez were themselves in a dire straits at 59-5 before Karki and Sunny Pun rescued their side making 119-5 in 29.5 overs.

Lalit Singh Bhandari picked up first two Tez wickets, the left-arm medium pacer removing opener Indra Kamal Manandhar (two) and Karan KC (duck) in the second over. Skipper Basanta Regmi then sent back another opener Sanjay Shrestha (eight)  to reduce Tez to 12-3 in 2.3 overs.

Pun and captain Sharad Vesawkar (13) resisted for a while with a 45-run stand but two quick wickets from Regmi left Tez reeling at 59-5 in 13.2 overs. Basanta dismissed Vesawkar and Puspa Thapa (two) in his successive overs. But Pun and Karki played sensibly as their unfinished 60-run stand shaped up the team’s victory. Pun made 37 off 82 balls with three boundaries while Karki hit six fours on his way to make a gritty 35 from 51 deliveries. Regmi returned with figures of 3-15 from nine overs and Bhandari took 2-23 from five.

Earlier, Karki paralysed Gurkhas batting with scalps of openers Subash Khakurel and Suman Shrestha (two). Khakurel made 13 off 16 with two fours and a six. Gurkhas soon lost in-form batsman Pradeep Airee (nine) and Antim Thapa (10) to veteran leg spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan. Surendra Chand followed (0) soon as Gurkhas were precariously placed at 43-5 in 16.4 overs.

Regmi and Aakash Gupta (12) added 20 runs for the sixth wicket before Pradhan removed the latter in the 26th over. Sushil Kandel marked his day with a prized scalp of Regmi as Gurkhas fell to 88-7 in 31.3 overs. Regmi top scored for Gurkhas with 23 off 58, his innings studded with three hits to the fence.

Aakash Bista and Santosh Baral tried to keep Gurkhas in the match with a 31-run stand for the eighth wicket until Aarif Sheikh got rid of the former. Bista made 22 off 34 deliveries that included five boundaries. Karan KC polished off the tail taking the last two wickets in successive deliveries. Baral was left stranded on unbeaten 14. Pradhan finished with figures of 3-26 while Karki conceded just seven runs in his six miserly overs.

Tez will now meet Shakti Gauchan-led Jagdamba Giants in the title showdown at the same ground on Saturday.