Sudurpaschim Royals has entered into the playoff of the ongoing Nepal Premier League (NPL) by beating Pokhara Avengers by 5 runs.
Pokhara Avengers was bowled out for 148 runs in 19.4 overs while it was chasing the 154-run target set by Sudurpaschim.
To secure the win, Andries Gous topped the score with 36 runs followed by Raymon Reifer with 33 runs while Kiran Thagunna secured 32 runs.
Similarly, Dinesh Kharel contributed 15 runs. The other batsmen could not make significant runs.
To stop Pokhara from reaching the target, Scott Kuggeleijn grabbed the highest 5 wickets while Harmeet Singh and Saif Zaib claimed 3 and 1 wickets, respectively.
Earlier, electing to bat first after losing the toss, Sudurpaschim scored 153 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.
Sudurpaschim's Aarif Sheikh scored 42 unbeaten runs. He hit 2 fours and 1 six off 38 balls.
Brandon McMullen added 23 runs while captain Dipendra Singh Airee added 20 runs. Ishan Pandey contributed 10 runs.
Similarly, Binod Bhandari returned to the pavilion with 14 and Harmit Singh with 13 runs.
On the bowling side, Pokhara's captain Kushal Bhurtel took 2 wickets. Michael Leask, Raymon Reifer and Sagar Dhakal took one wicket each to their name.
With this win, Janakpur, Chitwan and Sudurpaschim have now booked their berth in the playoff. Karnali Yaks and Kathmandu Gurkhas will lock their horns tomorrow. The winner will enter into the playoff of the ongoing NPL.
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