In the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), which features world star players, all six Player of the Match awards in the first six games have been bagged by Nepali players.
In earlier editions, foreign players dominated from the opening games. This time, Nepali players have performed brilliantly from the start and helped their teams win.
Young players in particular have shone and are proving themselves on a big stage. National team captain Dipendra Singh Airee and the experienced Sompal Kami have also performed well in this edition.
In the second season of the NPL, only one Nepali player won the Player of the Match award in the first eight games. That trend has changed this time. Even against famous foreign players, Nepali players have played decisive roles in winning matches.
Nepali players have won the award in all six games so far, putting the foreign players in the shade. In both games on Thursday, Nepali players performed well and helped their teams win.
Bowlers have been the most dominant so far. Lumbini’s Sher Malla, Chitwan’s Kamal Singh Airee, Karnali bowler Yunish Singh Thakuri and Janakpur’s Rahul Yadav have all been named Player of the Match. Sudurpaschim captain and all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee and Karnali captain Sompal Kami have won the award too.
Bowlers dominate the first three games
In the opening game against Sudurpaschim, Lumbini spinner Sher Malla was named Player of the Match. He took 3 wickets for 11 runs in 4 overs.
Sher dismissed well-known foreign players Sherfane Rutherford and Scott Kuggeleijn, as well as Nepal’s Binod Bhandari. He played an important role in Lumbini’s 7-wicket win. Lumbini medium pacer Kishor Mahato took the most wickets in that game with 4, but Sher was chosen as Player of the Match.
In the game between Biratnagar Kings and Chitwan Rhinos, another bowler shone. Medium pacer Kamal Singh Airee, who has played for the Nepal national team, took 4 wickets and played a key role in Chitwan’s thrilling 8-run win.
He was named Player of the Match after taking 4 wickets for 26 runs in 4 overs. He took wicket against West Indies’ aggressive batter Andre Russell, former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, and Nepali players Rupesh Singh and Basir Ahmad.
In the other game that day, Karnali’s young spinner Yunish Bikram Thakuri shone. He performed brilliantly as Karnali beat Janakpur, the winners of the first season, by 19 runs. Yunish took 3 wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs and was named Player of the Match. His wickets included Janakpur’s well-known player Jimmy Neesham, captain Harmeet Singh and Aditya Mahata.
Dipendra becomes first Nepali to hit a half-century
In the league’s fourth game, the best batting performer was named Player of the Match. In the game between Sudurpaschim Royals and Pokhara Avengers, Sudurpaschim captain Dipendra Singh Airee took the award. Young left-arm spinner Anil Kharel also took 3 wickets in the game.
But captain Dipendra, who steadied the middle order and remained unbeaten on 51 while chasing a target of 146, was named Player of the Match. Batting at number four, he hit 4 fours and 2 sixes in 36 balls. He also put together an important 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ishan Pandey, which laid the foundation for the win.
Iconic player Rahul takes flight
In the fifth game of the NPL, young pacer Rahul Yadav shone. The 17-year-old was selected through a talent hunt and joined Janakpur Bolts as an iconic player. He got the chance to make his NPL debut in the very first game.
He took a wicket on the first ball of his debut and bowled brilliantly against Karnali Yaks, taking 2 wickets. Janakpur lost that game, so Rahul was somewhat overshadowed, but he had already made his debut a memorable one.
In his second game on Thursday against Kathmandu Gorkhas, Rahul worked wonders. He bowled sensationally and took 4 wickets against the star-studded Kathmandu side, helping bowl them out for just 115. He wrecked Kathmandu’s batting and also took a brilliant catch.
Rahul took the wickets of Kathmandu’s openers Smit Patel and Sam Hizlett, captain Karan KC and Adil Alam. He was named Player of the Match after taking 4 wickets for 31 runs in 4 overs.
He won the award in just his second game. England’s famous all-rounder Moeen Ali even said Rahul could become Nepal’s Lasith Malinga. With 6 wickets in two games, Rahul is at the top of the wicket-takers’ list.
Sompal’s historic performance
Sompal Kami won the Player of the Match award with an all-round performance against Biratnagar Kings, giving Karnali Yaks their second consecutive win.
Sompal delivered the best performance of his career as Karnali won a thrilling 4-wicket victory over Biratnagar.
His performance was extraordinary. Sompal, who plays mainly as a bowler, took 4 wickets in Biratnagar’s first innings. He dismissed wicketkeeper-opener Lokesh Bam, who had scored a team-high 87 for Biratnagar, along with well-known foreign players Andre Russell, Angelo Mathews and Charith Asalanka. By bowling himself when the team needed it, Sompal broke Biratnagar’s run rate.
He also batted superbly while chasing the target of 187. He hit an unbeaten 62 off 32 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to win the game for his team.
Sompal came in to bat at number seven when Karnali were 57 for 5 in 6.5 overs. What happened next became history. He first steadied the innings with a 66-run partnership for the sixth wicket. He then added another crucial unbeaten 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Gulsan Jha.
Sompal did more than build partnerships. He played a captain’s innings and scored his first half-century in the NPL. After winning the game for Karnali with 4 wickets and a half-century, he said he felt blessed to perform like this. He said the team’s win mattered more to him than his own performance.
