A determined Myagdi United won over Intouch Sagarmatha in emphatic manner on Sunday the 12th December at Lees Park. With the welcoming weather, stage was set for the final. After snatching the opportunity in semis against Nepcoms Laligurans; Myagdi United certainly did not wanted to lose the momentum.
Sagarmatha called for batting after winning the Toss. Sagarmatha’s openers Robin Tamrakar and Shashi Keshari gave a steady start with their individual scores of 23 and 14 respectively. Pawan took a comfortable catch of Suraj’s delivery to get rid of Shashi Keshari. At this stage the score looked 1/42 in 7th overs. The equation did not look alarming for Sagarmatha but Captain Aakash Bhattarai was aware that “spark” was missing from the inning. As a result he brought himself to the crease. Robin soon followed after trying to flick ball from Dipendra Thapa against the spin to square leg, only to eventuate in to the leading edge; where Chitiz took an easy catch. Just as Aakash looked to lift the tempo; Deepzu rattled his stumps with spinning delivery. Aakash, gripped with two minds played the shot early to miss the ball. Atul hit polished 26, including 2 sixes and a boundary. This was the highest score for Sagarmatha’s innings.
At the end of 15th over and 5 wickets on hand, Sagarmatha was heading towards a sizable score. Batsman were determined to take the advantage of final overs however, clever bowling changes by Myagdi produce a stream of wickets at regular interval for them. Myagdi’s bowlers produced great discipline to restrict Sagarmatha to 130 from their 20 overs capturing 9 wickets. Pradeep Panta stood out taking 3 wickets closely followed by Suraj Bariyait and Deepzu with 2 wickets each.
Captain Aakash Bhattarai opened bowling attack for Sagarmatha. For Myagdi it was all about consistency as Manish Shrestha and Pradeep Panta took the guard. The pair looked very controlled and determined. As they laid their plan to score chunk of their runs in first 10 overs; both batsman hit boundaries. Myagdi raced to 32 runs just in 4 overs. Manish Shrestha punished bowlers for straying their line and length. Pradeep Panta partnered with Manish Shrestha taking the score to 69 runs. Aakash Bhattarai left with no answer as he watched all of his bowlers been tore apart. With only 50 runs to defend in 11 overs, the reality was grim for Sagarmatha.
Ashish Shrestha ignited the late revival for Sagarmatha taking the very first wicket removing Pradeep Panta. He also claimed Suraj Bariyait wicket the very next ball with LBW. The “yolker” that pitched middle and leg stroked Suraj’s toe, leaving him unflattered. On a Hat Trick Ashish bowled swiftly to Chitiz Singh. Chitiz played the forward defence shot to deny hat trick. Rajendra Shrestha also chipped in with 2 wickets for Sagarmatha. Too little too late for Sagarmatha as Myagdi reached their target well within the overs.
Manish Shrestha displayed a match- winning performance hitting 53 runs with 5 fours and 3 sixes. His aggression and understanding of the game set the tone for Myagdi united. He was awarded the Man of the Match for the finals by the panel.
Whilst Intouch Sagarmatha will be disappointed to have been so thoroughly outplayed by a slick Myagdi United, they will at least rest content in the knowledge that their defeat takes little away from a largely successful T20 matches into the one day matches.
Winners are grinners and today, Myagdi United certainly has the last laugh.
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