Binod Bhandari and Aasif Sheikh’s excellent batting helped Pokhara Paltans to start a competition on winning note. They outplayed Biratnagar Titans and registered 58 runs’ victory.
Titans’ skipper, Sandeep Lamichhane, won the toss and invited Paltans to bat first. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh gave Paltans a flying start with 53 runs opening-stand. Bhurtel (28) was sent back by Lamichhane. Paltans’ foreign player, Rabi Inder Singh, came to bat at no 3 and shared 94 runs for second wicket. Singh scored 44 runs off 27 balls with 4 sixes and 2 fours. Aasif Sheikh anchored the innings with 54 balls-52 runs with the help of 5 fours and a six. Binod Bhandari’s firework propelled Paltans’ total to 197 runs as he scored 41 runs from just 11 deliveries. He smashed 5 sixes and 2 fours to entertain the home crowd. Lamichhane picked up maximum 2 wickets for Titans
Titans were asked to score 198 runs to win the match which proved to be too heavy for them. Batting full 20 overs, they scored 139 runs, losing 8 wickets. Raju Rijal and Puspa Thapa scored maximum 30 runs respectively. Lalit Rajbanshi bowled brilliantly and picked up 3 wickets for Paltans. Binod Bhandari was awarded as man of the match for his match-winning cameo.
