Lal Bahadur Adhikari produced a memorable batting performance as Region No 4 Bhairahawa defeated hosts Region No 2 Birgunj by 11 runs in the final of the MG Trophy National Twenty20 Tournament at Narayani Cricket Ground.
After 10 overs, Bhairahawa were 20 for 7 but batting at No 9, Lal salvaged Bhairahawa’s innings scoring a half-century and took the total to 111 for 8. Birgunj only managed 97 in 19.2 overs.
Bhairahawa chose to bat first but Jata Shankar Sarraf soon made Antim Thapa regret the decision. He took top three wickets as the guest team soon found themself struggling at 20/7. Jata took 3/5 in his four overs while Binod Das took two and Avinash Karn claimed a wicket.
From then on, Lal and Krishna Karki salvaged the innings with some clever and aggressive shots. Utilizing Birgunj’s relaxed effort and some hard-hitting, the duo partnered 91 runs for eighth wicket.
Lal was run out on the last ball of the innings scoring 52 in 37 balls with eight fours. Krishna was unbeaten on 26 off 27 balls with a four and two sixes, both sixes coming off Binod Das’ last over.
Birgunj suffered from some poor fielding and casual bowling of Sameer Thapa and Hasim Ansari, who combined six overs cost 54 runs.
In reply, Birgunj lost early initiative losing batsman of the series winner Amit Shrestha for four but kept the chances in balance with captain Binod playing an anchoring knock. However, Binod lost partners frequently.
Binod scored 34 in 28 balls with a four and two sixes, but was out stumped off Bivek Chaudhary while stepping out for a big shot. Apart from him, only Hasim Ansari (12), Sameer (10) and Kumar Thapa (10) reached double-digit.
The match swung in balance until the final couple of overs as Birgunj needed 18 off last two overs, but they lost three wickets on 97 ending the hopes of the sizeable number of audience in the ground.
The prize distribution ceremony was postponed until Monday due to the passing away of veteran democratic leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. The teams and officials sported black armbands in mourning.
Bhairahawa will receive Rs. 100,000 as winners while Birgunj will pocket Rs. 50,000. Man of the series Anil Mandal of Janakpur will get Rs. 15,000. Best batsman Amit Shrestha and Best bowler Narayan Patel, both of Birgunj, will receive Rs. 10,000 each.
All 8 regional cricket development regions participated in the national Twenty20 tournaments that saw them play league matches in two groups with top two teams progressing to the semifinals.