Sudurpaschim Claims a Thrilling Win Against Kathmandu

In the second Nepal Premier League (NPL), last season’s runners-up, Sudurpaschim Royals, began their campaign with a thrilling victory, defeating Kathmandu Gorkhaz by 29 runs. Sudurpaschim’s win was powered by an impressive performance from Harmit Singh.

Chasing a target of 148 runs, Kathmandu were bowled out for 118 in 16.5 overs.

In the second over, on the fifth ball, opener Ben Charlesworth was dismissed for 8 runs by Hemant Dhami, leaving Kathmandu at 18 for the loss of their first wicket. Van Down’s Bhim Sarki scored 12 runs before being caught by Arif Sheikh off Hemant’s delivery. Shortly after, Santosh Yadav was run out for 1 run. At 3 wickets down, Kathmandu had only 39 runs on the board. They managed to reach 50 runs by the end of the first powerplay.

At the crease, Akash Tripathi and John Simpson steadied the innings. By the end of the 10th over, Kathmandu had scored 87 runs, needing 61 runs from 60 balls to win. The pair shared a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but in the 11th over, John was dismissed for 24 runs, bowled by Ishan Pande.

Sudurpaschim then made a strong comeback. In the 12th over, Harmit Singh took 2 crucial wickets. He had Akash, who had scored 34 runs off 30 balls including 1 four and 2 sixes, caught by Jas Brown. On the very next ball, Harmit dismissed hitter Adil for a golden duck. By the end of the 12th over, Kathmandu had lost 6 wickets and reached 96 runs.

Milind Kumar was dismissed by Naren Saud for 11 runs. At that point, Kathmandu needed 42 runs from 32 balls with 3 wickets in hand, making the game highly exciting. Soon after, Rasid Khan, the eighth wicket, fell for just 6 runs, bowled by Scott Kuglen, leaving Kathmandu requiring 38 runs off 28 balls.

Under mounting pressure, captain Karan KC was dismissed for 1 run, caught by Panilion off Scott’s bowling. With the ninth wicket gone at 112 runs, Sudurpaschim gained a firm grip on the match.

The final blow came when Sunny Patel, who had scored 10 runs, was caught by Dipendra Singh Aire off Abhinash Bohara’s delivery, handing Sudurpaschim a thrilling victory. In bowling, Scott, Hemant, and Harmit Singh took 2 wickets each, while Abhinash, Naren, and Ishan claimed 1 wicket each.

Earlier, after Kathmandu captain Karan KC won the toss and chose to bowl, Sudurpaschim were bowled out for 147 runs in 20 overs.

Karan gave a dream start with the ball. On the second delivery, he trapped Jas Brown LBW without opening his account. On the final ball of the same over, he had the other opener, Vinod Bhandari, caught by Bhim for a golden duck. Karan conceded only 1 run in his first over while sending both openers back to the pavilion.

In the second over, Sahab Alam gave away just 1 run. With the team reeling at 2 wickets down, more was expected from Chris Lynn, but he too was dismissed by Karan, caught by Milind Kumar for 2 runs. At 3 wickets down, Sudurpaschim had only scored 4 runs, struggling to stabilize the innings.

On the last ball of the sixth over, Milind dismissed Ishan Pande for 11 runs. Kathmandu had a sensational start, restricting Sudurpaschim to just 27 runs in the first powerplay, by which time Sudurpaschim had already lost 4 wickets.

For the fifth wicket, Arif Sheikh was dismissed LBW by Rasid Khan for 25 runs. At 9.4 overs, Sudurpaschim had lost 5 wickets for just 52 runs. On the last ball of the 10th over, Dipendra Singh Aire survived a reprieve on 12 runs when Sahab dropped a catch off Rasid Khan’s bowling.

In the 14th over, on the first ball, Adil Alam dropped a spectacular catch off Naren’s delivery. However, on the next ball, Naren was dismissed, caught by Bhim off Milind Kumar’s bowling. At the fall of the sixth wicket, Sudurpaschim had reached 72 runs.

By the end of the 15th over, the team had added 80 runs, and they accelerated in the 16th and 17th overs with a flurry of boundaries. Harmit Singh played explosive batting, scoring 21 runs in the 16th over with 3 sixes.

Karan KC came on to bowl in the 17th over. After conceding just 2 runs in 2 previous overs while taking 3 wickets, he gave away 24 runs in this over. Harmit struck 1 four and 3 consecutive sixes. Harmit also survived a reprieve on 47 runs when Bhim dropped a catch.

Dipendra and Harmit shared a 61-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Dipendra was dismissed for 39 runs off 30 balls, hitting 3 fours and 1 six, bowled by Rasid Khan. Shortly after, Sunny Patel was bowled by Sahab for 1 run.

Harmit’s explosive batting continued as he reached a half-century off just 19 balls, hitting 2 fours and 6 sixes. He added 53 runs in total before being caught off Sunny Patel’s delivery by Sahab.

In bowling, Karan KC was the most successful, taking 4 wickets for 30 runs in 4 overs. Milind Kumar, Sunny, and Rasid claimed 2 wickets each.

With this result, Kathmandu earned 2 points from 2 matches, while Sudurpaschim secured 2 points from their opening win. Tomorrow, Lumbini Lions will face Chitwan Rhinos.