Lumbini Lions has defeated Chitwan Rhinos by 6 wickets in the fifth match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament, held in Kirtipur.
Chasing the 143-run target set by Chitwan, Lumbini reached it in 18.3 overs losing 4 wickets.
Gulbadin Naib topped the score with 44 runs including 3 fours and 3 sixes off 24 balls followed by Rohit Paudel with 39 runs while Sundeep Jora scored 28 runs. Similarly, D'Arcy Short and Dilip Nath contributed 11 and 10 runs, respectively.
In reply, Rijan Dhakal took 2 wickets while Sohail Tanvir grabbed 1 wicket for Chitwan.
Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Chitwan notched up 142 runs losing 7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Ravi Bopara topped the score with 66 runs including four fours and three sixes off 55 deliveries followed by Kushal Malla with 21 runs while Saif Zaib, Dev Khanal and Deepak Bohara, contributed 15, 14 and 10 runs, respectively. The other batsmen could not achieve significant runs.
On the bowling side, Ruben Trumpelmann took the highest 3 wickets followed by Abhishesh Gautam, Gulbadin Naib with two wickets each for Lumbini.
This is the first match of the tournament for Lumbini, led by Rohit Poudel, who is also the captain of the National Men's Cricket team of the country.
Meanwhile, Chitwan Rhinos led by Kushal Malla is playing its second match. In the first match, Chitwan defeated Karnali Yaks by 4 wickets to collect 2 points.
Pokhara Avengers will take on Sudurpaschim in the fifth match on Friday. The match will begin at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur at 4 pm.
.
