Lumbini Lions set 168-run target for Chitwan Rhinos in NPL
Rohit completed his second half-century of the tournament in 43 balls and became the first Nepali cricketer to score two half-centuries in this league.
KATHMANDU: In the first match of today’s Siddhartha Bank Nepal Premier League (NPL), Lumbini Lions set a competitive target for Chitwan Rhinos with the help of half-centuries from captain Rohit Kumar Paudel and Sade Win Jafar.
After losing the toss and being invited to bat, Lumbini scored 167 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs. Captain Rohit top-scored with 80 runs off 68 balls, hitting 6 fours and 5 sixes.
Rohit completed his second half-century of the tournament in 43 balls and became the first Nepali cricketer to score two half-centuries in this league. Previously, he had scored 95 runs against Pokhara Avengers.
With a total of 261 runs, Rohit is currently the highest run-scorer in the tournament. He formed a crucial 114-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Sade Win Jafar, the highest partnership for the fifth wicket in this competition, and the fourth century partnership overall.
Chitwan initially gained the upper hand when Rijan Dhakal took two wickets in the second over, but the partnership between Rohit and Jafar helped Lumbini recover.
Jafar made 52 runs off 35 balls, including 4 fours and 1 six. He was given a life on the final ball of the 10th over when Sohail Tanveer dropped Chitwan captain Kusal Malla’s delivery at mid-wicket while Jafar was on 5 runs.
Arjun Saud added 15 runs from 12 balls before being dismissed, while Sandip Jora remained not out on 4 runs.
Rijan had an early impact, dismissing Ashutosh Ghireya in the first ball of the second over for just 1 run. He then dismissed Unmukt Chand for a duck, caught behind by wicketkeeper Bipin Rawal.
In the 8th over, Kusal Malla’s delivery to Tom Moores led to a missed catch due to confusion between Rijan and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. However, Moores made the most of the chance, hitting a six before being caught by Loftie Eaton at the boundary on the next ball.
Lumbini scored 33 runs for the loss of 2 wickets during the powerplay. Chitwan has not conceded more than 50 runs in the powerplay in any match so far, with their highest being 48 runs while taking 3 wickets against Sudurpashchim Royals.
For Chitwan, Rijan Dhakal took 2 wickets, while Ranjit Kumar and Kusal Malla each took 1 wicket.
The second match of the day will feature Pokhara Avengers against Karnali Yaks.
Chitwan Rhinos Playing XI:
Kushal Malla (captain), Ranjit Kumar, Ravi Bopara, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Luke Benkenstein, Rijjan Dhakal, Bipin Rawal (wk), Nar Bahadur Sarki, Amar Singh Rautela, Santosh Karki, Sohail Tanvir
Lumbini Lions have made one change, bringing in Unmukt Chand for Ben Cutting.
Lumbini Lions Playing XI:
Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Jora, Vivek Yadav, Ashutosh Ghireya, Abhishek Gautam, Arjun Saud, Durgesh Gupta, Tom Moores, Unmukt Chand, Saad Bin Zafar, Ramon Simmons
