Janakpur Bolts has entered the final of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) by defeating Karnali by 2 wickets in the second qualifier.
To clinch the win over the opponent, James Neesham topped the score with 45 runs including 2 fours and 5 sixes off 17 balls followed by Harsh Thaker with 17 runs while Sher Malla and Mayan Yadav scored 17 and 14 runs respectively. Aakash Tripathi contribued 13 runs.
On the bowling side, Bipin Sharma took the highest 3 wickets followed by Sompal Kami, William Bosisto and Zeeshan Maqsood grabbed 1 wicket each.
Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss, Karnali notched up 118 runs losing 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Gulsan Jha topped the score with 25 runs including 1 four and 2 sixes off 20 balls followed by Dev Khanal with 24 runs while William Bosisto and Zeeshan Masqsood contributed 14 and 12 runs, respectively. Similarly, Unish Thakuri and Chadwick Walton contributed 12 and 11 runs, respectively.
In reply, Lalit Rajbanshi, James Neesham and Mohammad Mohsin grabbed 2 wickets each for Janakpur while Harsh Thaker and Sher Malla took 1 wicket each.
With the win, Janakpur will now vie for the NPL tile with Sudurpaschim. The final is scheduled to be held at 12:15 pm on Saturday.
Janakpur had lost to Sudurpaschim in the first qualifier held on Wednesday. It was the second chance for Janakpur to reach the final of the NPL.
Similarly, Karnali Yaks had entered the second qualifier to meet with Janakpur by defeating Chitwan Rhinos in the eliminator. Chitwan has already crashed out of the NPL race and been placed fourth in the NPL ranking.
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