Bank of Asia clinched the title of 13th Soaltee Crowne Plaza Super Sixes cricket tournament for the first time defeating five-time champion Embassy of India on Saturday.
Bank of Asia beat Embassy of India by three wickets in the final match at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Winning the toss, Embassy of India scored 57 runs for the loss of two wickets in the allotted five overs. This was the lowest total scored by Embassy of India in the tournament. Sandeep Sharma was the top scorer with 32 runs, including four boundaries and a six, off 13 balls.
Chasing the total of 58 runs, Bank of Asia met the target losing three wickets with two balls to spare. Captain, Santosh Rathi scored 22 runs off 10 balls to win the thriller. Bank of Asia was in deep trouble in the first over as it lost its key player Diwesh Dangol. However, skipper Rathi guided the team for the victory.
After the win, the skipper said their plan to restrict Embassy of India for a low total guided the team to victory. “We had planned to restrict them below 60 runs and it worked.”
Diwesh Dangol of Bank of Asia was adjudged man-of-the-series as he scored 134 runs off 71 runs in seven matches. Dangol also took five wickets in 6.4 overs conceding 73 runs throughout the tournament. Dangol received gift vouchers along with the trophy.
Bishnu Hari Neupane of Nepal Bank was declared the best bowler of the tournament as he took five wickets in three matches off 2.2 overs. Amit Pokhrel of Nabil Bank received the award for the best batsman of the tournament.
Pokhrel scored 134 runs off 54 balls in four matches with the strike rate of 248.15. With seven catches and a run out in six matches, Samir Giri of Nepal Bank was named the best fielder. The performance of the players was calculated till the pre-quarterfinal matches.
In the semifinal matches held earlier on Saturday morning, Bank of Asia defeated Nepal Bank by six wickets. Nepal Bank had qualified for the semifinals in place of Nepal FM.
Despite winning the quarterfinal match, Nepal FM was disqualified for fielding under-age player. Winning the toss, Nepal Bank scored 64/3 with 23 runs from Sushil Karki. Bank of Asia successfully met the target of 65 runs without losing a wicket. Diwesh Dangol scored 31 runs off 14 balls for the winning team.
In another semifinal match, Embassy of India thrashed Standard Chartered Bank by 28 runs. Embassy of India was made to bat first by Standard Chartered, which won the toss. Embassy of India scored 83/3. Sandeep Sharma scored 33 runs off 12 balls. In chasing the total of 84 runs, Standard Chartered Bank was able to score 55 runs in the allocated five overs. Shekhar Karki´s 33 runs off 15 balls were not enough to guide the team to victory.
Previous winners of Soaltee Crowne Plaza Super Sixes
Year Winner
1999 British Embassy
2000 Khetan Group
2001 Surya Nepal
2002 Embassy of India
2003 Embassy of India
2004 Embassy of India
2005 Soaltee Crowne Plaza
2006 Embassy of India
2007 Embassy of India
2008 Surya Nepal
2009 NMB Bank
2010 Nepal SBI Bank
