Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Gorkhas defeated defending champions Janakpur Bolts by five wickets in the opening match of the Nepal Premier League 2025 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Monday.
After being sent in to bat at the full-house stadium under floodlights, Janakpur were restricted to 130 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Kathmandu Gorkhas chased down the 131-run target with five wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare.
Janakpur made a poor start with the bat, losing opener Lahiru Milantha (7) with only 34 runs on the board. Another opener, Aasif Sheikh, scored a magnificent 54 off 41 balls, but received little support from the other end as Anil Sah (0), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (2) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (2) fell cheaply. Mayan Yadav added an unbeaten 34 off 29 balls, while Lahiru Samarakoon contributed 22 off 21, giving some respectability to the total.
Milind Kumar claimed three wickets for Kathmandu, while Karan KC, Shahab Alam and Santosh Yadav took one wicket each.
Chasing 13 for the win, Kathmandu made a strong start with openers Aakash Tripathi and Ben Charlesworth putting on 70 runs for the first wicket. Charlesworth struck a quick-fire 46 off 23 balls to set the tone, while Tripathi made 39 off 45. Milind Kumar and John Simpson added 19 and 13, respectively, before Mohammad Aadil (8*) sealed the victory in the final ball of the 18th over.
Janakpur used eight bowlers in an effort to defend the low total, with five of them—Kishore Mahato, Anil Sah, Lalit Rajbanshi, Loftie-Eaton and Krishnamurthi—taking a wicket each.
Tuesday’s Fixtures
11:45 am – Chitwan Rhinos vs Karnali Yaks
3 pm – Biratnagar Kings vs Pokhara Avengers
