Myagdi United has clinched a thriller in T20 against Nepcoms Laligurans in their second attempt at Lees Park on 4thDecember 2010. Myagdi United was declared winner after the ‘super over’ as the 20-20 match was a tie.
Winning the toss, Myagdi United’s skipper Pradeep Panta opted to field first. The opening pair from Nepcoms Laligurans, Nabin Gurung (28) and Ashesh Siwakoti (55) started gallantly against the new ball. However, Myagdi United’s bowlers fought back from a blistering opening by Nabin Gurung to snatch a 2 wickets victory and keep the series alive.
Nepcoms Laligurans could not regather their form once Captain Arjen Aryal departed on 13. Even though the ‘worm’ moved further, mixture of run outs restricted it moving north. As a result, Nepcoms Laligurans finish the day for 147 losing 7 wickets.
As the asking rate just above 7 runs per-over, Pradeep Panta did not seem overly concerned, which led to a fatal error of judgement on his part, when he faced a rising ball from Gunjan Shrestha with out helmet. Trying to avoid the short ball, Pradeep misjudged the speed and got smashed on face. However, he displayed courage to stand his ground and play. Both the openers Manish Shrestha (17) and Pradeep Panta (19) laid good foundation for the chase. Suraj Bariyait (16) and Kshitiz Singh (17) followed slowly to reach the target.
Nepcoms Laligurans appeared to be cruising with ten overs remaining. The asking-rate was eight and half, and five wickets down, Myagdi looked feeble opponent. Myagdi United was kept in the game largely by their middle order batsman and the man who changed the course of game for Myagdi was Dipendra Thapa. His uncanny resilience and clean hitting made him the instant superstar.
With few nudges Dipendra Thapa started his innings. As asking rate started to head high, he picked up his scoring rate from couples to boundaries. He smashed five sixes and a boundary in his polished inning of 53no. Most of those sixes were from pull shots. No doubt it was a match winning performance from him. Kshitiz Singh supported him from the other end. As a result Myagdi salvaged a tie from the final ball.
To decide the winner, both teams participated in ‘super over’, where both the teams face 6 legal deliveries with only 2 wickets. Myagdi again opted to field first winning the toss.
Myagdi seized the momentum with the draw from the near-loss match. This provided a moral boosting support for the team and especially to Captain Pradeep Panta. As spectators gathered around the ground for the final overs, it was anything but relaxed.
Batting duo Nabin Gurung and Arjen Aryal took the guard for batting. With high support from cheering crowd from the camp, Pradeep Panta bowled. Pitched on the off stump and just short of the length, Nabin tried to hoick it over the bowler’s head. Just for his disappointment, the ball instead picked up the outside edge and Manoj KC took a comfortable catch. As drama continued, Captain Arjen Aryal got the bottom edge from the very second ball of the over, which Pawan Chhetri (WK) took a tidy catch. Myagdi was jubilant as the scoreboard read 2/0. Once again Dipendra Thapa hit a fine boundary from the very first ball sealing the victory for Myagdi United.
It was clear that the day belong to Myagdi united, largely to have a belief that battle is never lost till one truly believes so. Man of the Match was awarded to Dipendra Thapa for his superb performance with the bat.
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