Kathmandu, October 29
Karnali Yaks secured a thrilling victory over Biratnagar Kings in the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), chasing down a target of 187 runs with one ball to spare.
Karnali captain Sompal Kami led the chase with an unbeaten 62 off 32 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes. He shared an unbroken 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Gulshan Jha, who remained unbeaten on 28 off 21 balls.
Karnali needed eight runs from the final over. Kami took a single off the first delivery, while Jha collected two runs off the second and one off the third. Biratnagar’s Lokesh Bam then dropped a catch offered by Jha.
Kami sealed the victory by taking two runs off each of the next two deliveries, completing the chase with one ball remaining.
Earlier, Kami had helped steady the innings through a 66-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Pawan Sarraf, who scored 36 off 28 balls.
Karnali had struggled at the start of the chase, losing their first five wickets cheaply. Mark Watt scored one, Dipak Dumre made 20, Akbar Ali managed one, Ariful Islam scored 32, and Hussain Talat was dismissed without scoring.
Kami and Sarraf then revived the innings before Kami and Jha finished the job.
Angelo Mathews was Biratnagar’s leading wicket-taker with three scalps, while Charith Asalanka, Pratis GC and captain Sandeep Lamichhane took one wicket each.
Earlier, after losing the toss at the TU Cricket Ground, Biratnagar posted 186 for seven in their 20 overs.
Opener Lokesh Bam starred with the bat, scoring 87 off 52 balls, including three fours and nine sixes. He added 67 runs for the fourth wicket with Mathews, who scored 31 off 22 balls.
Bam was dismissed by Karnali captain Kami in the fifth ball of the 16th over, falling 13 runs short of becoming the first Nepali player to score a century in the NPL.
Biratnagar’s other batters made modest contributions. Opener Imran Sheikh scored five, Asalanka three and Shehan Jayasuriya 11. Andre Russell hit 27 off 15 balls, while Basir Ahmed scored 13. Sujan Thapaliya remained unbeaten.
Kami was also Karnali’s standout bowler, taking four wickets for 33 runs in his four overs. He dismissed Bam, Russell, Mathews and Asalanka. Mark Watt and Nandan Yadav claimed one wicket each. Watt removed opener Imran, while Yadav bowled Basir with the final delivery of the innings.
No NPL matches are scheduled for Friday.
