Kathmandu Gorkhas get second win in NPL, defeat Lumbini by 22 runs

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Gorkhas secured their second victory of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), defeating Lumbini Lions by 22 runs at the TU International Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

A late batting assault by captain Karan KC and a disciplined bowling effort from Kathmandu proved too much for Lumbini, who slumped to their second consecutive defeat.

Put into bat after losing the toss, Kathmandu faced an early setback with Ben Charlesworth departing for a duck. However, opener Aakash Tripathi steadied the ship, with a composed 32 off 36 balls. He found support from Rashid Khan, who contributed a quick 14 off 10 balls. The middle order kept the scoreboard ticking, with Santosh Yadav (26), Milind Kumar (17), and Gerhard Erasmus (17) all chipping in with valuable runs. But it was Captain Karan KC who provided the game-changing momentum, smashing 34 runs off just 11 deliveries. His late flourish propelled Kathmandu to a competitive total of 157/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Ruben Trumpelmann, Sher Malla, Gulbadin Naib, and Rohit Paudel all claimed two wickets each for Lumbini.

Chasing 158 for their second win, the Lumbini Lions lost opener Sundeep Jora (7) in the second over. Although D’Arcy Short blasted 22 off just 11 balls, the experienced duo of Captain Rohit Paudel and Gulbadin Naib fell for 11 runs each. Dilip Nath attempted to resurrect the chase with a gritty 25 off 33 balls before Sher Malla launched a counter-attack with 27 runs off 18 balls. However, Lumbini were bowled out for 135 with five balls to spare.

Milind Kumar and Gerhard Erasmus picked up two wickets each for Kathmandu, while Captain KC, Sahab Alam, Santosh Yadav and Rashid Khan each had a wicket to their names.

Wednesday’s Fixture:
Biratnagar Kings vs. Chitwan Rhinos