Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Karnali Yaks inched closer to the playoff spot with a five-run victory over Lumbini Lions in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) at the TU International Cricket Ground on Friday.
The result means Lumbini Lions ended the inaugural NPL season with just one win from seven matches. Karnali, on the other hand, has eight points from six matches.
Fielding first, Lumbini restricted Karnali Yaks to 128 for the loss of eight wickets. In reply, Lumbini Lions faltered in the chase and could score only 123 runs, losing seven wickets.
Australian all-rounder William Bosisto scored 44 from 30 balls to ensure Karnali had something to defend after its top order collapsed. Although opener Babar Hayat scored 20 off 22 balls, Dev Khanal was out for 3, Chadwick Walton contributed 13, and Gulsan Jha fell for eight runs. Bosisto found support from Arjun Gharti, who scored a run-a-ball 25. Other Karnali batters failed to reach double digits.
Biaksh Agri took three wickets for Lumbini, while Tilak Bhandari claimed two, and Ramon Simmonds, Saad Bin Zafar and Rohit Paudel got a wicket each.
In the chase, Lumbini’s top-order batters got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Opener Ahushotsh Ghiraiya and Arjun Saud scored 16 and 13 runs, respectively. After Captain Rohit Paudel fell for 10 runs, Tom Moores and Sandeep Jora scored 36 and 24, respectively, to keep Lumbini in the chase. After Saad Bin Zafar fell for 16, Lumbini’s tailenders failed to deal with the yorkers of Nandan Yadav in the final over and conceded a five-run defeat.
Zeeshan Maqsood took two wickets for Karnali, while Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Bipin Sharma, and William Bosisto claimed a wicket each.
