The 2021 Everest Premier League, also known as EPL4 or Bajaj Pulsar EPL[1] for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth edition of the Everest Premier League, a professional men's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Nepal. The event was initially scheduled for December 2019, before being postponed multiple times. Lalitpur Patriots were the defending champions, having won their first title in 2018, but were eliminated in the group stage after finishing fifth.[2]
| Dates | 25 September – 9 October 2021 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | EPL Pvt. Ltd. |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Single round robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) | Nepal |
| Champions | Chitwan Tigers (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Pokhara Rhinos |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 19 |
| Player of the series | Sagar Dhakal (Chitwan Tigers) |
| Most runs | Mohammad Shahzad (Chitwan Tigers) 207 runs |
| Most wickets | Sagar Dhakal (Chitwan Tigers) 14 wickets |
Background
editThe fourth edition of the Everest Premier League was originally scheduled to be held from 8 to 22 December 2019, but was rescheduled to run from 29 February to 14 March 2020.[3] but was rescheduled again, to run from 14 to 28 March 2020. On 5 March, the event was postponed again due to the coronavirus pandemic.[4] In February 2021, the 2021 Everest Premier League dates were announced by the Cricket Association of Nepal as 25 September – 9 October 2021.[5][6][7][8] The dates were chosen to coincide with the Vijayadashami festival in Nepal.[6][7] All matches will be played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu.[9]
The prize money for the competition has been doubled from the 2018 edition, and will be 5 million nepalese rupees (NPR). The runners-up will earn 1.5 million NPR.[10]
Venues
edit| Kathmandu |
|---|
| Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground |
| Capacity: 25,000+ |
|
TU International Cricket Ground is the host for all matches of the tournament. |
Squads
edit
- Source: Yahoo! Sports[11]
- Foreign players are listed along with their respective flag.
- C stands for Captain.
Points table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chitwan Tigers | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.489 |
| 2 | Pokhara Rhinos | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7[a] | 0.023 |
| 3 | Bhairahawa Gladiators | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7[a] | 0.971 |
| 4 | Kathmandu Kings XI | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.467 |
| 5 | Lalitpur Patriots | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −0.601 |
| 6 | Biratnagar Warriors | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −1.143 |
Source: Cricinfo
Notes:
Notes:
- The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
- advance to Qualifier 1.
- advance to Eliminator.
League matches
editThe schedule was published on 8 September 2021.[9][12]
Lalitpur Patriots
157/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Kathmandu Kings XI
160/3 (14.2 overs) |
- Kathmandu Kings XI won the toss and elected to field.
Biratnagar Warriors
151/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
155/8 (20 overs) |
Sikandar Raza 67 (47)
Sagar Dhakal 2/14 (3 overs) |
- Chitwan Tigers won the toss and elected to field.
Pokhara Rhinos
65/7 (10.1 overs) |
v
|
|
Asela Gunaratne 23 (16)
Durgesh Gupta 3/16 (3 overs) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to bat.
- No further play was possible due to rain.
Biratnagar Warriors
104/5 (8 overs) |
v
|
Kathmandu Kings XI
97/3 (8 overs) |
- Kathmandu Kings XI won the toss and elected to field.
- Match was reduced to 8 overs per side due to rain.
- Match was rescheduled from 27 September due to rain.
Chitwan Tigers
164/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Bhairahawa Gladiators
165/4 (17.5 overs) |
- Chitwan Tigers won the toss and elected to bat.
- Match was rescheduled from 27 September due to rain.
Kathmandu Kings XI
182/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Pokhara Rhinos
142/5 (15 overs) |
Amit Shrestha 56 (41)
Bibek Yadav 3/7 (1 over) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to field.
- No further play was possible due to rain. Rhinos were 14 runs ahead of the par score.
- Match was rescheduled from 28 September due to rain.
Lalitpur Patriots
51/6 (7 overs) |
v
|
Pokhara Rhinos
55/1 (6.3 overs) |
Sandun Weerakkody 19 (16)
Nandan Yadav 3/11 (2 overs) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to field.
- Match was reduced to 7 overs per side due to rain.
Biratnagar Warriors
89 (17.4 overs) |
v
|
Bhairahawa Gladiators
92/4 (15.3 overs) |
Upul Tharanga 34 (35)
Ramnaresh Giri 2/30 (4 overs) |
- Bhairahawa Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
Kathmandu Kings XI
141/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
142/7 (18.4 overs) |
Subash Khakurel 35 (34)
Sagar Dhakal 4/21 (4 overs) |
- Chitwan Tigers won the toss and elected to field.
Lalitpur Patriots
177/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Bhairahawa Gladiators
177/5 (20 overs) |
- Bhairahawa Gladiators won the toss and elected to field.
- Super Over was not played due to bad light.
Lalitpur Patriots
226/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Biratnagar Warriors
189/8 (20 overs) |
- Biratnagar Warriors won the toss and elected to field.
Pokhara Rhinos
123/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
124/1 (16.4 overs) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to bat.
v
|
||
- No play was possible due to wet outfield.
- Match was rescheduled from 3 October due to wet outfield.
Biratnagar Warriors
172/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Pokhara Rhinos
173/3 (17.4 overs) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to field.
Lalitpur Patriots
108/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
112/5 (17.2 overs) |
Jaykishan Kolsawala 42 (33)
Kamal Singh Airee 3/11 (4 overs) |
Mohammad Shahzad 35 (28)
Rijan Dhakal 2/11 (2 overs) |
- Lalitpur Patriots won the toss and elected to bat.
Playoff stage
edit| Semifinals | Preliminary final | Final | |||||||||||
| 6 October | 9 October | ||||||||||||
| Chitwan Tigers | 68/1 | 1 | Chitwan Tigers | 114/6 | |||||||||
| Pokhara Rhinos | 66 | 7 October | 2 | Pokhara Rhinos | 111 | ||||||||
| 2 | Pokhara Rhinos | 123/3 | |||||||||||
| 6 October | 3 | Bhairahawa Gladiators | 119/6 | ||||||||||
| Bhairahawa Gladiators | 188/8 | ||||||||||||
| Kathmandu Kings XI | 172/8 | ||||||||||||
Preliminary
editQualifier 1
editPokhara Rhinos
66 (15 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
68/1 (7.5 overs) |
Mohammad Shahzad 48 (26)
Nandan Yadav 1/23 (1.5 overs) |
- Chitwan Tigers won the toss and elected to field.
Eliminator
editBhairahawa Gladiators
188/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Kathmandu Kings XI
172/8 (20 overs) |
- Bhairahawa Gladiators won the toss and elected to bat.
Qualifier 2
editBhairahawa Gladiators
119/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Pokhara Rhinos
123/3 (18.2 overs) |
- Pokhara Rhinos won the toss and elected to field.
Final
editPokhara Rhinos
111 (17.5 overs) |
v
|
Chitwan Tigers
114/6 (15.5 overs) |
Bhim Sharki 63 (45)
Kishore Mahato 4/27 (3.5 overs) |
- Chitwan Tigers won the toss and elected to field.
References
edit- ^ "Everest Premier League T20 Cricket Trophy". Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Final, Kirtipur, Dec 22 2018, Everest Premier League". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Bigger, Bumper, Better EPL in 2020". MoMo Cricket. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ "Everest Premier League 2020 postponed due to coronavirus threat". Emerging Cricket. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "EPL in September". Himalayan Times. 1 March 2021.
KATHMANDU: The EPL Pvt Ltd on Sunday announced the dates of the Everest Premier League. According to the organisers, the next edition of the franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament will be held in Kathmandu from September 25 to October 9.
- ^ a b "Global Stars will light up 2021 Everest Premier League in Nepal". Czar Sporz Auto. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Nepal's Everest Premier League all set to make a return". Emerging Cricket. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "Everest Premier League confirmed to return in September". Cric Nepal. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Everest Premier League 2021 fixtures: Full EPL cricket schedule, dates". The Cricketer. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "EPL 2021 Champions to Pocket NPR 5 Million Prize Money!". Nepali Senar. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Everest Premier League 2021: Full Squads, Fixtures And All Details You Need To Know". Yahoo! Sports. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ "Everest Premier League 2021 fixtures". Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 September 2021.