Lumbini Lions defeated defending runners-up Sudurpaschim Royals to win the Siddhartha Bank Nepal Premier League (NPL) title on Saturday at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. With the victory, Lumbini have been crowned new NPL champions, while Sudurpaschim Royals finished runners-up for the second consecutive time. After captain Rohit Paudel, Sher Malla, and Ruben Trumpelmann shone with the ball, Lumbini bowled Sudurpaschim out for just 85 runs.
Chasing a modest target of 86 runs in the final, Lumbini completed the chase in just nine overs, losing four wickets to clinch the championship.
On their way to the title, Lumbini registered six consecutive wins in their last six matches. After defeating Chitwan Rhinos in their opening game, Lumbini suffered three straight losses and were at one point in danger of being eliminated in the league stage. However, they staged a remarkable comeback and went on to lift the NPL trophy.
Lumbini opener Dinesh Adhikari set the tone early by smashing four sixes in the very first over bowled by Sudurpaschim captain Dipendra Singh Airee, helping Lumbini race to 27 runs.
Adhikari played a blistering knock, scoring 42 runs off just 13 balls, hitting one four and five sixes.
For the first wicket, Adhikari and D’Arcy Short added 58 runs in four overs. The partnership was broken in the fifth over by Hemant Dhami, who dismissed both batters. Short was bowled for 13 runs off 14 balls on the first ball of the over, while Adhikari was caught by Scott Kuggeleijn on the third ball of the same over.
Captain Rohit Paudel contributed 16 runs off 12 balls, hitting two fours and one six. Niroshan Dickwella remained unbeaten on 11 runs off 12 balls, while Dilip Nath scored the winning run.
Defending runners-up Sudurpaschim Royals, who won the toss and opted to bat first, were bowled out for 85 runs in 19.1 overs.
Sudurpaschim’s total of 85 is jointly the fourth-lowest score in NPL history and the lowest total ever in an NPL final.
Sudurpaschim’s innings collapsed under sharp bowling from Lumbini captain Rohit Paudel, Sher Malla, and Ruben Trumpelmann.
Opening batter Ishan Pandey top-scored for Sudurpaschim with 33 runs, anchoring the innings as wickets fell at the other end. He faced 51 balls and hit one four.
Pandey and captain Dipendra Singh Airee added 25 runs for the fourth wicket. Airee scored 13 runs off 20 balls, hitting one six. Hermit Singh and Scott Kuggeleijn chipped in with 10 runs each.
For Lumbini, Ruben Trumpelmann, Rohit Paudel, and Sher Malla each claimed three wickets. Rohit completed a hat-trick in the 11th over, dismissing Dipendra Singh Airee, Dipak Bohara, and Punit Mehra in successive deliveries. He conceded just 12 runs in his four-over spell.
Trumpelmann took 3 wickets for just 3 runs in 2.1 overs, while Sher Malla claimed 3 wickets for 18 runs in four overs. Tilak Bhandari picked up one wicket for 26 runs in four overs.
