Janakpur Bolts, Sudurpaschim Royals secure wins amid roaring support

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 6: Janakpur Bolts and Sudurpaschim Royals continued their winning streak in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) after they registered individual victory at TU International Cricket Ground on Day 5. 

In the first match of Thursday, Janakpur Bolts emerged victorious over Pokhara Avengers by seven wickets. The second match of the day saw Sudurpaschim Royals dominating Kathmandu Gurkhas as the former won by 73 runs. 

Janakpur and Sudurpaschim secured the wins in front of a loud fan support. While the ground started filling after the first game between Janakpur and Pokhara commenced, the grass bank, temporary parapet and the outer region were packed by the time the Sudurpaschim vs Kathmandu encounter began.

It was the third straight win for Janakpur since the start of the tournament while Sudurpaschim secured their second win in the second match. Janakpur and Sudurpaschim are in the top two positions in the table with six and four points respectively.

Successful chase for Bolts

Janakpur had elected to field first after winning the toss on Thursday. Janakpur, which had won the past two games by bowling first, continued the momentum during the third game as well.

Aware of the good form of Janakpur, Pokhara, recalling the poor start against Chitwan Rhinos on December 3, did not open with the captain and marquee Kushal Bhurtel against Janakpur. USA’s Andries Gous replaced Bhurtel in the opening partnership on Thursday. 

Dinesh Kharel and Gous stayed until the end of the 5th over before Lalit Rajbanshi broke the partnership. Gous hit Rajbanshi for a six in 4.5 overs but got caught out in the next delivery and departed for 20 off 16. He was accompanied by Kharel (10 off 17) in the next over of James Neesham.

Moreover, Bhurtel, who decided to come down the order at three, could not capitalise on the new spot. But he got stumped out at 6 off 6 after getting a lifeline in the spell of Neesham. From 45/3 at the end of the 7th over, Pokhara crossed the 100-run mark in the 17th over and posted 135 runs on the board in the loss of seven wickets at the end of the first inning.

Janakpur did not use pacer Hemant Dhami, Nepal’s U19 skipper, but still pressurised Pokhara’s batting order. Lalit bagged three wickets in total while Neesham bagged two; Kishore Mahato and Mohammad Mohsin claimed one each.

Janakpur, who had chased 128 and 142 against Biratnagar and Karnali respectively, was expected to chase 139 against Pokhara as well. The early departure of Janakpur skipper and opener Anil Kumar Sah raised some concerns, but others in the top order responded effectively.

Aasif Sheikh and Lahiru Milantha took Janakpur from 10/1 at 1.2 overs to 82/2 at 9.5 overs until the latter departed for 45 off 32. Aasif (33 off 34) followed him at 12.3 overs leaving Janakpur at 92/3.

Milantha is currently the top run scorer in the NPL; he has scored 144 runs in three innings. 

Of the eight bowlers used by Pokhara, Bipin Khatri, Michael Leask and Bhurtel took one each. It was all that the Pokhareli bowlers could earn because in-at-four Harsh Thaker and in-at-five Neesham ended their hopes.

From 98/3 at the end of 14 overs, Neesham showered boundaries across the TU Ground. He completed the chase with a maximum, his fifth of the match, in the first ball of the 18th over to win it for Janakpur. Thaker contributed with 13 off 14 from the other end.

Young Saud defends for Sudur

While Janakpur did not let Hemant bowl, Sudur saw the most important contribution from Naren Saud, Hemant’s teammate in the U-19 squad who returned last night from the World Cup in Dubai.

Saud bagged a fifer, the first by a Nepali bowler in the NPL, for Sudur while the team defended the target of 168 runs against Kathmandu Gurkhas. In-at-eleven, Shahab Alam, was the final wicket of Kathmandu that fell in 15.5 overs and the fifth for Saud, who was bowling his final over.

Kathmandu was bundled for 94 with 25 balls left in the second inning. 

“I knew I would play today’s game while I was returning to Kathmandu. I was telling myself that I would bag the man of the match in the first game. It was also thanks to the motivation from our skipper and coach,” said Saud in the post-match conference. And Saud was adjudged the man of the match for his fifer.

Except for Saud, Abinash Bohara bagged two wickets, and Brandon McMullen and Saif Zaib took one each for Sudur as the team registered two consecutive wins.

Stephen Eskinazi was the highest scorer for Kathmandu with a score of 37 off 33. Bhim Sharki, Gerhard Erasmus and Sumit Maharjan were the only others who scored in double figures for the Gurkhas, but none of the three scored over 14 runs.

“We did not have a good start with the bat, but the bowling unit is doing good. We are still trying to win every game. We will target at least three wins in the next four matches to keep our hopes in the NPL alive,” said Basanta Shahi, head coach for Kathmandu Gurkhas. 

On the other hand, Sudurpaschim posted 167/6 in the first inning thanks to a stable second-wicket partnership between Binod Bhandari and McMullen. McMullen departed after a half-century (53 off 36) while Bhandari contributed 35 off 28. They departed one after another at 11.6 and 12.1 overs respectively.

From 103/3 in 12.1 overs, it was Sudur’s main man, skipper and marquee Dipendra Singh Airee, who helped the team to a decent total. Airee (43 off 25) smashed three fours and two sixes before departing as the sixth wicket in 18.4 overs leaving the team at 162/6.

While Airee did not register a half-century, he completed 100 runs in the NPL in two innings. He is the second-top run scorer in the NPL after Milantha.

Nevertheless, Pokhara Avengers, with two regular losses, has the chance for a comeback on Friday when they face Lumbini Lions in the second match of the day. The first match of December 6 will see Chitwan Rhinos aiming for the third consecutive win when they face Karnali Yaks, another team with a two-game losing streak.