Thunder chase down 181 with two balls to spare to stay unbeaten

Kathmandu Thunder made it four wins from four on Thursday night, chasing down Chitwan Tuskers' 180 for 5 with two balls to spare at Kirtipur.

Opener Sujan Adhikari set up the chase with 74 off 41 balls, and captain Bibek Thapa finished it with a straight six off the fourth ball of the final over.

Sent in after Thunder won the toss, Tuskers built their innings around a 92-run stand for the third wicket. Their 180 was one of the biggest totals of the season, and on a slow surface it looked like enough at the halfway mark.

Adhikari had other ideas. He took 19 off the second over and reached his fifty off 27 balls, picking off the short leg-side boundary again and again. Thunder were 96 for 1 after ten overs, well ahead of the rate.

Tuskers fought back through their spinners, taking three wickets for 24 in four overs, and Thunder needed 31 from the last three. Thapa kept his head, running hard between the wickets before ending the game in style.

The win keeps Thunder top of the table on eight points. Tuskers have now lost two of their three games, and they play again less than 24 hours later.

"We knew 180 was chaseable if we didn't lose wickets in clumps," Thapa said afterwards. "Sujan made it easy for the rest of us."