Sudurpaschim Royals’ final opponent: Janakpur Bolts or Karnali Yaks?

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 19: Sudurpaschim Royals became the first team to reach the finals of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) as they defeated Janakpur Bolts by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 on Wednesday. 

Winning the toss and electing to bat first in the second game of Wednesday, Janakpur posted 139/9 on the board by the end of the first inning when the Top 2 teams from the NPL league stage met at TU International Cricket Ground.

Despite the loss, Janakpur still has a chance for the final as they will be facing Karnali Yaks, the winner from the Eliminator, in Qualifier 2 on Thursday (December 19). Karnali defeated Chitwan Rhinos in the first game on Wednesday by 21 runs to get closer to a spot in the final. 

Meanwhile, after the loss, Chitwan is out of the NPL. The Rhinos had elected to field first after winning the toss in the morning conditions favourable for the bowlers. However, Karnali’s batting lineup batted well.

Jaykishan Kolsawala, the latest foreign addition to Karnali’s squad, opened in his NPL debut and scored a half-century. When Kolsawala (53 off 39) fell as the third wicket in 12.4 overs, Karnali was at 94 runs. 

Rit Gautam was the first wicket as a golden duck in 1.1 overs while Zeeshan Maqsood departed after adding 14 off 12. Kolsawala’s proper partnership was with in-at-four William Bosisto. 

Bosisto also went on to register a half-century while partnering with Chadwick Walton. Walton, who has been the rescuer for Karnali in the last few games, fell short of four runs for his half-century as he stayed not out with skipper Sompal Kami as Karnali lost six wickets for 175 runs.

Before getting out of the NPL, Pakistan’s unorthodox pacer Sohail Tanvir reached 14 wickets in the tournament after claiming two against Karnali. Sarad Vesawakar, Ravi Bopara and Kushal Malla also bagged one wicket each for Chitwan.

Chitwan had been on a high with their batting performance recently. However, they could not chase 176 runs and stay alive in the NPL.

Former national player for England, Bopara, was the only batter to perform for Chitwan in the chase. Bopara climbed to the top in the list of most runs scored with his 53 off 34; he has 286 runs in eight games.

Maqsood’s three-wicket haul alongside two each by Kami and Nandan Yadav and one by teenager Bipin Sharma helped Chitwan reach only 154/9 in 20 overs.

Nevertheless, Sudurpaschim was able to chase 140 runs against Janakpur. The top six batters of Janakpur scored in double figures but insufficiently. James Neesham’s 45 off 23 (3 fours, 3 sixes) was the most important inning for Janakpur while the lower order struggled.

Sudurpaschim’s skipper Dipendra Singh Airee was the hero with the ball as he sent three of the top six batters of Janakpur back to the pavilion. Saif Zaib bagged two wickets, and Scott Kuggeleijn and Abinash Bohara took one each.

Scott is currently topping the list of most wicket-takers with 16 in eight games.

While it took almost all the players for Janakpur to post 139 runs on the board, Sudur only needed the top order. 

Zaib and Binod Bhandari gave a good start to Sudur. When Zaib departed as the first wicket in 7.3 overs, Sudurpaschim was at 56 runs. Bhandari then partnered with Brandon McMullen until 14.1 overs as the latter departed for 25 off 19.

Coming up the order, it was Airee who cemented the inning with Bhandari and took the team to the final. Bhandari (58 off 55), who registered his first NPL half-century, and Airee (20 off 16) stayed not out as they chased the target with nine balls remaining.

Janakpur vs Karnali

When Janakpur and Karnali met in the league stage on December 2, Janakpur won by eight wickets and 29 balls remaining as they chased 142 runs in 15.1 overs.

Anil Kumar Sah, the skipper, was the highest scorer in the game as he stayed not out at 62 off 42. However, Sah will not be with Janakpur in the playoffs as he has sustained a hand injury. He has been replaced by marquee Aasif Sheikh for the captaincy.

Nevertheless, Karnali emerged as a better team after the loss to Janakpur in the early stage. Yet, the departure of Shikhar Dhawan after four games was a big blow.

However, Karnali showed that they still have a good batting order by bringing Kolsawala as a replacement. Kolsawala, with a half-century in his debut, will be a major player to watch in Qualifier 2 against Janakpur.

But Janakpur, who has yet to use Hemant Dhami in bowling, also has a good batting order with the likes of Lahiru Milantha, Aasif, Shubh Kansakar and Neesham.