Kathmandu, Nov : Janakpur Bolts have defeated Pokhara Avengers by 9 runs in the match held today between the two sides under the Nepal Premier League (NPL).
After posting a total of 147 runs in the stipulated 20 overs at the loss of 7 wickets, Janakpur restricted Pokhara to 138 runs for 9 wickets. In the match played at the TU International Cricket Stadium, Kirtipur, Pokhara Avengers won the toss and invited Janakpur Bolts to bat first. Janakpur batsman Trit Raj Das scored the highest runs, 61 in 55 balls followed by Abhishek Tiwari who contributed 24 runs in just 10 balls. Opener Moeen Ali scored 21 runs in 16 balls, before being bowled out by Shakib Al Hasan.
For the bowling side, Shakib took 3 wickets in 3 overs while Chamika Karaunaratne took 2 wickets. Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifudin took 1 wicket each.
Chasing a target of 148 runs for a victory, Pokhara lost both its openers cheaply—Dinesh Kharel was out for 3 runs in 9 balls while Mahedi Hasan scored 8 runs in 4 balls. Captain Kushal Bhurtel top-scored with 35 runs in 24 balls followed by Bipin Acharya and Bipin Khatri who scored 20 and 17 runs respectively.
For Janakpur, Moeen Ali took 3 wickets while captain Harmeet Singh and Saif Hassan took 2 wickets each.
Following the win today, Janakpur move up to the second position in the points table with 4 points while Pokhara remain in the 7th position after two losses in two matches.
The Nepal Premier League is a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal. This is the third edition of NPL that takes place annually.
