Kathmandu, Nov 29: Lumbini Lions defeated Pokhara Avengers by three wickets in today’s first match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), keeping their chances of reaching the playoffs alive.
Lumbini, who had faced defeat in three of their first four matches, were under pressure to win their fifth match today. With today’s victory, Lumbini has climbed to fifth place on the score table with four points from five matches.
Even though Lumbini suffered a defeat, the possibility of Pokhara reaching the playoffs is still alive. So far, Pokhara has won one out of four matches. At present, Pokhara has only two points.
Lumbini achieved the target of 151 runs set by Pokhara in 19.4 overs for the loss of seven wickets. Skipper Rohit Paudel made 40 runs while Niroshan Dickwella contributed key 37 runs for Lumbini. Similarly, Sandip Jora made 25 runs.
For Pokhara Avengers, Bipin Khatri, Mark Taylor and Sagar Dhakal took two wickets each while Jimmy Neesham took one wicket.
Before that, Pokhara, who were sent to batting first after losing the toss, scored 150 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Pokhara did not start the innings well. They lost Dinesh Kharel as the first wicket and Captain Kushal Bhurtel as the second after scoring 15 runs. Sumit Verma who came next could not make runs while Tirtharaj Das also made only one run.
But as the seventh batter for Lumbini, Jimmy Neesham and opener Adam Rossington’s pair made an important 92-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Rossington scored 81 runs off 63 balls with the help of five sixes and seven fours, while Neesham scored 51 runs.
In the process of making a half-century, Neesham hit three sixes and three fours. For Lumbini, Sher Malla and Tilak Bhandari took two wickets each while Gulbadin Naib took one wicket.
The second match today will be between Sudurpaschim Royals and Janakpur Bolts.
