Chitwan Rhinos beats Kathmandu Gurkhas by 5 wickets

KATHMANDU: Chitwan Rhinos triumphed over Kathmandu Gurkhas by 5 wickets in the second match of the Siddhartha Bank Nepal Premier League (NPL).

Chasing a modest target of 112 set by Kathmandu Gurkhas, Chitwan Rhinos reached the target in 17.1 overs, losing 5 wickets.

In the winning effort, opener Hasan Isakhil contributed 12 runs, while fellow opener Deepak Bohora made 7 runs before being dismissed.

Luke Benkenstein added 22 runs, and captain Kushal Malla and Ravi Bopara both scored 11 runs each.

Young star Santosh Karki remained unbeaten on 28, and Sharad Vesawkar also remained not out with 11 runs.

For Kathmandu Gurkhas, Shahab Alam was the standout bowler, claiming 3 wickets. Gerard Erasmus and Daniel Douthwaite each took 1 wicket.

Earlier, Kathmandu Gurkhas, after losing the toss, batted first and posted a modest total of 111 runs, losing 9 wickets in the process.

Chitwan Rhinos’ bowlers dominated, with Pakistani bowler Sohail Tanvir being the star, taking a remarkable 5 wickets in his 4 overs.

Kathmandu Gurkhas’ openers struggled; Stefan Iskinaji was dismissed for 2 runs, and Michael Levitt contributed an aggressive 25 runs before being dismissed. Sumit Maharjan top-scored for Kathmandu with 29 runs, while Gerard Erasmus added 4.

Bhik Sarki and Shankar Rana made 1 and 16 runs respectively, while Rashid Khan was dismissed for 4 runs.

Captain Karan KC and Shahab Alam both fell for 1 run, and Daniel Douthwaite contributed 19 runs, with Deepesh Kandel remaining unbeaten on 1 run.

For Chitwan Rhinos, aside from Tanvir’s brilliant bowling, Rijan Dhakal, Kushal Malla, Amar Singh Rautela, and Luke Benkenstein each took 1 wicket.