Kathmandu: Kathmandu Gorkhas defeated Lumbini Lions by 22 runs in the match held today under the Nepal Premier League (NPL) at TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. Chasing a victory target of 158 runs set by Kathmandu, Lumbini Lions were all out in 19.1 overs, with only 135 runs on the board.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Sher Malla was the highest scorer for Lumbini, scoring 27 runs in 18 balls, followed by Dilip Nath who contributed 25 runs while D’Archy Shot scored 22 runs in their failed bid to surpass the opponent’s total. For the bowling side, all six bowlers used took a wicket, with Milind Kumar and Gerhard Erasmus taking two wickets each.
Prior to this, Kathmandu Gorkhas had posted a total of 157 runs in 20 overs at the loss of 8 wickets after being put into bat first by Lumbini Lions. Kathmandu were able to put up a challenging total, thanks to a late flurry of runs by Captain Karan KC, who scored 34 runs in only 11 balls. He hit 4 sixes and 1 four that also won him the player-of-the-match award. Other significant contributors to the Kathmandu total were opener Aakash Tripathi who scored 32 runs in 36 balls while Santosh Yadav scored 26 runs in 16 balls. Milind Kumar and Gerhard Erasmus scored 17 runs each.
For Lumbini, captain Rohit Paudel, Sher Malla, Gulbadin Naib, and Ruben Trumpelmann took 2 wickets each. With the win, Kathmandu Gorkhas has collected 4 points so far to remain in the third position while Lumbini Lions remain in the fourth position with just one win in three matches in the second season of Nepal Premier League, a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament.