Sudurpaschim Royals has made it to the first qualifier of the ongoing Nepal Premier League (NPL) by defeating Chitwan Rhinos by 49 runs.
With Chitwan's loss to Sudurpaschim in the second held in Kirtipur on Thursday evening, Biratnagar Kings also secured a berth in the playoffs.
Sudurpas
chim has won all six of the matches it has played so far. Remaining unbeaten in the league stage, Sudurpashchim tops the points table with 12 points.
Sudurpaschim bowled out Chitwan for 120 runs in 17.1 overs while it was chasing the 170-run target set by the opponent.
To restrict Chitwan from reaching the target, Puneet Mehra took the highest 3 wickets while Dipendra Singh Airee, Hikmat Mahara, Abinsah Bohara and Ishan Pandey claimed 1 wicket each.
Ravi Bopara's 29-run score was the highest for Chitwan. Bopara hit 1 four ans 2 sixes off 23 balls followed by Dev Khanal with 28 runs. Similarly, Arjun Saud and Kushal Malla contributed 16 and 15 runs, respectively. The other batsmen could not ahieve significant runs.
Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss at TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Thursday, Sudurpaschim notched up 169 runs losing 4 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Chris Lynn topped the score with 75 runs including 5 fours and 3 sixes off 56 deliveries followed by Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee with 24 runs each while Binod Bhandari and Puneet Mehra contributed 13 runs for a 169-run haul.
In reply, Saif Zaib took 2 wickets while Ranjit Kumar and George Scrimshaw claimed 1 wicket each for Chitwan Rhinos.
Janakpur Bolts will face Lumbini Lions on Friday. The match will start at 4 pm.
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