Sudurpaschim Royals wins the match with Biratnagar Kings By 90 Runs in ongoing NPL 2024

Biratnagar Kings have lost two consecutive matches in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) after making a great start to the match.

Sudurpaschim defeated Biratnagar by 90 runs in the first match at the Tribhuvan University Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

Chasing a target of 183 runs set by Sudurpaschim, Biratnagar was bowled out for 92 runs in 16.1 overs. Biratnagar could not hold its own at any point.

Biratnagar’s wickets started falling after opening batsman Martin Guptill was dismissed for a golden duck.

Guptill, who had scored a half-century in the previous match, was bowled by Scott Kuggeleijn in the third ball. Two overs later, opener Lokesh Bam was also stumped by wicketkeeper Binod Bhandari for 2 runs off the ball of Brandon McMullan.

Biratnagar got off to a poor start when Nicholas Kirton was caught by Kuggeleijn for 5 runs in the fourth over.

Rajesh Pulami Magar was run out for 15 runs while Bashir Ahmed scored 24 runs off 28 balls. Ismat Alam was bowled for 6 runs. Both Bashir and Ismat were dismissed by Sudurpaschim’s Abhinash Bohra in the eleventh over.

Pratish GC was dismissed for 1 run and captain Sandeep Lamichhane for 8 runs. Chris Soul was dismissed for 9 runs while Anil Kharel scored 10 runs not out.

In bowling, Kuggelein and Abhinash of Sudurpaschim took 3 wickets each. Kuggelein gave away 30 runs in 4 overs while Abhinash gave away 17 runs in 3 overs. Saeed Zaib, McMullan and Ishan Pandey took 1 wicket each.

Batting first, Sudurpaschim captain Dipendra Singh Airi batted brilliantly and scored a half-century. Dipendra scored 57 runs not out in 24 balls. He hit two consecutive sixes off Pratish GC in the last two balls and hit a total of 3 fours and 5 sixes.

After Biratnagar won the toss and elected to field, Sudurpaschim, who batted first, scored 182 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with the help of Dipendra’s excellent batting. This is the highest score so far in the ongoing tournament. Sudurpaschim had scored 69 runs in the last five overs.

Earlier, Sudurpaschim’s opener could not get going. Amrit Shrestha was out in the second over for 1 run. He was caught by Ismat Alam from Martin Guptill. Another opener, Binod Bhandari, who scored 23 runs in 20 balls, returned to the pavilion in the fifth over. Bhandari, who had hit four boundaries, was caught by Pratish GC off Anil Kharel.

In the next over, Arif Sheikh was dismissed for 9 runs. Arif bowled a ball off Bashir Ahmed and Nicholas Kirton took a brilliant catch.

Then Saif Zaib and Brandon McMullan took charge of the long innings. Zaib scored 14 runs in 15 balls before being bowled by Anil Kharel. McMullan was dismissed for 36 runs, hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes in 26 balls. He was also caught off Anil Kharel in the 13th over.

After McMullan’s dismissal, Ishan Pandey and Deependra Singh Airee put on a 49-run partnership for the loss of the sixth wicket.

While taking three runs, Ishan Pandey was run out in the fifth ball of the 17th over. Ishan scored 21 runs in 16 balls with the help of 2 fours and 1 six.

Scott Kuggeleijn was out after scoring 10 runs in 6 balls with the help of 2 fours. Basanta Khatri, who supported Dipendra in the last over, scored 4 runs not out.

In bowling, Anil Kharel of Biratnagar took 3 wickets. Anil, who is playing cricket in Australia, has come to Nepal for the APL. He conceded 26 runs in four overs.

Biratnagar captain Sandeep Lamichhane also remained wicketless in the second match of the APL. He conceded 31 runs in four overs against Sudurpaschim.