Kathmandu Gurkhas triumph over Karnali Yaks

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Gurkhas secured their first win in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) by defeating Karnali Yaks by 3 wickets.

Chasing a competitive target of 150 set by Karnali, Kathmandu Gurkhas completed the chase in 19.3 overs, losing 7 wickets.

Sumit Maharjan played a key role in the victory, remaining unbeaten on 40 runs.

Captain Karan KC contributed with a quickfire 28 off 10 balls, while Gerhard Erasmus scored 38 runs.

Karnali’s top-order struggled, with opener Shankar Rana dismissed for just 6 runs and Michael Levitt scoring 22.

Stephen Eskinazi contributed only 3, while Bhim Sarki added 9. Rashid Khan and Sahab Alam went out for ducks, leaving the middle-order to fight.

For Karnali, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Zeeshan Maqsood, and Bipin Sharma all took one wicket each.

Earlier, Karnali, opting to bat first after winning the toss, posted a total of 149 runs, losing 5 wickets in the process.

Shikhar Dhawan played a brilliant innings, scoring an unbeaten 72 off 51 balls, including four fours and five sixes.

Chadwick Walton made 21 runs from 15 balls, Babar Hayat added 13 runs from 18 balls, Gulshan Jha scored 12 runs from 19 balls, and Zeeshan Maqsood contributed 14 runs from 11 balls.

For Kathmandu, Gerhard Erasmus claimed two wickets, while Nathan Swater, Dipesh Kandel, and Captain Karan KC each took one wicket.