Lumbini Lions end Kathmandu Gorkhas’ NPL journey in eliminator (photos)
The winner of Qualifier 2 between Lumbini and Biratnagar will meet Sudurpashchim Royals in the championship match.
KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Gorkhas’ campaign in Season 2 of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) came to an end on Wednesday after suffering a defeat against Lumbini Lions in the Eliminator match.
With the loss, Kathmandu finished fourth this season, while Lumbini kept their hopes of reaching the final alive. Lumbini will now face Biratnagar Kings—the losing team from Qualifier 1 against Sudurpashchim Royals—in Qualifier
Sudurpashchim has already secured their spot in the final by winning Qualifier 1.
The winner of Qualifier 2 between Lumbini and Biratnagar will meet Sudurpashchim Royals in the championship match. The losing team of Qualifier 2 will finish third in the tournament.
Lumbini Chase 112 With Ease
After winning the toss, Kathmandu opted to bat at the TU International Cricket Ground. However, their batting collapsed, managing only 112 runs, giving Lumbini a modest target.
Lumbini successfully chased the target in 17.4 overs, finishing at 112/6.
Kathmandu’s poor batting was the primary reason for their elimination. The team was struggling at 51/6 by the fifth ball of the ninth over before Santosh Yadav arrived to stabilize the innings. He top-scored for Kathmandu with 23 runs, but was eventually run out.
Mohammad Adil Alam contributed 18 runs, while John Simpson and Bhim Sharki scored 18 and 14 respectively.
Kathmandu’s top-order collapsed completely, with the first four batsmen failing to reach double digits:
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Ben Charlesworth: 5
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Aakash Tripathi: 1
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Sunny Patel: 7
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Milind Kumar: 2
Captain Karan KC added 9 runs.
Lumbini’s Bowlers Shine
Sher Malla and captain Rohit Paudel both took 3 wickets each, dismantling Kathmandu’s batting order.
Trumpelmann removed openers Charlesworth and Sunny Patel, while Abhishek Gautam added a wicket as well.
Strong Start Helps Lumbini Advance
Chasing a small total, Lumbini batted with little pressure.
Opener D’Arcy Short top-scored with 33 runs, anchoring the innings.
Dinesh Adhikari made 4 runs, Rohit Paudel scored 18 off 25 balls, and Sundeep Jora made 23 off 23.
Niroshan Dickwella contributed 14, while Dilip Nath and Trumpelmann added 7 and 5 respectively to secure victory.
Kathmandu’s Bowling Effort
Santosh Yadav impressed with 2 wickets, while Sunny Patel, Karan KC, Shahab Alam and Rashid Khan took one wicket each.
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