Karnali Yaks defeats Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Eliminator

KATHMANDU: Karnali Yaks progressed to Qualifier 2, defeating Chitwan Rhinos in the Eliminator of Nepal Premier League (NPL) on Wednesday morning.

In the first match of the day played at the TU Cricket Grounds on Wednesday, Chitwan faced a 21-run defeat against Karnali Yaks. The Yaks will face the loser of the Qualifier 1 match between Sudurpaschim Royals and Janakpur Bolts in the Qualifier 2 to enter the final of the inaugural NPL.

Batting first, Karnali Yaks scored 175 for the loss of six wickets, riding on the excellent performance of their foreign recruits. Chasing a target of 176 runs to earn a place in Qualifier 2, Chitwan Rhinos folded for 154 runs, losing nine wickets.

Although Karnali lost opener Rit Gautam for a duck, their new opener Jaykishan Kolsawala struck 53 off 39 balls which included four fours and two sixes. Although Zeeshan Maqsood fell soon after scoring 14 off 12 balls and Gulsan Jha followed him for a duck, Kolsawala found support from William Bosisto, who scored 52 off 39 balls. Chadwick Walton then scored an unbeaten 46 off 23 balls to take Karnali’s score above 170. Other Karnali batters failed to reach double digits.

Sohail Tanvir took two wickets for Chitwan, while Sharad Vesawkar, Ravi Bopara and Kushal Malla claimed a wicket each.

In the chase, Chitwan lost opener Hassan Eisakhil for just one run. Although Bipin Rawal, Luc Benkenstein and Captain Kushal Malla fell for 18, 16, and 21 runs, respectively, Ravi Bopara kept Chitwan in the hunt with 53 off just 34 balls. However, his dismissal triggered a collapse as Santosh Karki fell for 8, Sohail Tanvir was dismissed for four and Amar Routela could score only 9. Rijan Dhakal contributed 4, and Sharad Vesawkar remained unbeaten at 10.

Zeeshan Maqsood took three wickets for Karnali, while Captain Sompal Kami and Nandan Yadav took two wickets each, and Bipin Sharma claimed one.