Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Lumbini Lions will play their first match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) Season 2 on Thursday, facing an in-form Chitwan Rhinos side at the TU International Cricket Grounds at 4 pm.
Chitwan enter the match with early momentum after securing a comfortable win in their opening game against Pokhara. Lumbini, which finished eighth in the eight-team league in the last season, meanwhile, will be under pressure to start well.
Lumbini endured a difficult campaign in the first edition of the tournament. They finished at the bottom of the table, winning only one of their seven matches and losing their first four games in a row. Since the team’s only win came against Chitwan last season, the Rhinos will be keen to take early momentum by winning their opening fixture.
Chitwan, who reached the playoffs last season by finishing third on the points table, are expected to approach Thursday’s match with caution—particularly because of Rohit Paudel. The Lumbini skipper, who also captains the national side, delivered one of the standout individual performances of NPL Season 1, scoring 80 runs and picking up four wickets, against Chitwan.
Lumbini Lions Squad:
Rohit Paudel (Captain), Sundeep Jora, Tilak Bhandari, Abhishesh Gautam, Dinesh Adhikari, Durgesh Gupta, Aadil Khan, Bishal Patel, Dilip Nath, D’arcy Short, Gulbadin Naib, Thomas Draca, Sumit Maharjan, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit
Chitwan Rhinos:
Kushal Malla (captain), Sohail Tanvir, Ravi Bopara, Dawid Malan, Saif Zaib, Amar Routela, Kamal Airee, Bipin Rawal, Rijan Dhakal, Alpesh Ramjani, Gautam KC, Bipin Acharya, Arjun Saud, Dev Khanal, Saugat Dhakal, Deepak Bohara, Ranjit Kumar
