Sudurpaschim Royals and Biratnagar Kings advanced to Qualifier 1 with their third consecutive wins in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) on Monday. Last year's runners-up Sudurpaschim defeated Karnali Yaks by 45 runs and Biratnagar defeated Janakpur Bolts by 9 runs on Monday.

The two teams that win the first three matches are in the top two positions. After the eight competing teams compete with each other, the top four teams will advance to the playoffs. Out of these, the top two teams will play to reach the final.

Captain Deependra Singh Airi gave an all-round performance to lead Sudurpaschim to victory. After taking 4 wickets, he was all out for 94 runs in 19.2 overs under the floodlights of the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Stadium in Karnali Kirtipur, which was set a target of 140 runs. This is the lowest score in this season's NPL.

Player of the Match Dipendra, who led the Royals' innings with batting, gave an excellent bowling performance, giving away 23 runs in 4 overs. Dipendra bowled 3 overs in the powerplay and took 3 wickets. In the second and his first over of the innings, he stumped Priyank Panchal for a duck. Then he dismissed Mark Watt, who had scored a century in the previous match, for 17 and Najibullah Zadran LBW for 1 run.

Before the innings, Karnali captain Sompal himself came to play the last 4 balls of the first power play after Hemant Dhami had William Bosisto caught behind for 3 runs. Despite his team's poor batting, Karnali consultant coach Raju Basnyat expressed his dissatisfaction with the umpire's decision to give Bosisto out.

Sompal tried to settle the innings by scoring 14 runs off 16 balls but was cut and bowled by Harmeet Singh. Pawan Sarraf top-scored for Karnali with 27 runs. He hit 4 fours off 26 balls. Gulshan Jha and Arjun Gharti were out for 13 each, Nandan Yadav for 1 and Yuvraj Khatri for a duck. Harmeet took 19 in 4 overs and Avinash Bohra took 2-2 wickets for 19 runs in 3.2 overs, while Scott Kuggeleijn and Hemant Dhami took 1 wicket each.

Earlier, after Sompal bowled brilliantly and lost the toss, Sudurpaschim scored 139 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Sompal took 3 wickets in 4 overs, including 1 maiden, for 32 runs. He bowled Josh Brown in the first ball. While Dipendra and Harmit were batting aggressively for the sixth wicket, Sompal broke Harmit's leg stump and broke the 48-run partnership.

Sompal's third wicket was a rarity in Nepali cricket. He got Naren Saud hit in his last over. Apart from Sompal, Nandan took 2 wickets for 11 runs in 3 overs, while Watt, Bipin Sharma and Yuvraj took 1 wicket each. Captain Dipendra scored the highest 39 runs. He hit 1 four and 2 sixes in 28 balls. Harmit scored 19 runs in 16 balls, including 1 four and a six. 

After Brown was dismissed in the first ball, Sudurpaschim played under pressure most of the time. Opening pair Vinod Bhandari scored 11 runs in 13 balls with 1 four. Chris Lynn scored 18 runs in 20 balls with 2 fours. Ishan Pandey was run out for 2 runs. Kuggeleijn was out for 10 and Narine for zero in the lower order. Hemant and Avinash remained unbeaten on 1-1 runs. 

Sandeep's excellent bowling 

Biratnagar Kings continued their winning streak after captain Sandeep Lamichhane's excellent bowling performance. After Sandeep took 4 wickets, Janakpur Bolts, who were set a target of 136 runs, could only score 126 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. 

Sandeep conceded only 11 runs in 4 overs. Surya Tamang conceded 2 runs in 4 overs and Merchant de Lange and Shubham Ranjan took 1 wicket each. Janakpur opener Asif Sheikh was out for 13 runs. Captain Anil Sah could only score 4 runs in 14 balls. Lahiru Milantha was out for 23 runs in 22 balls with 2 fours and 1 six.

Sanjay Krishnamurthy scored 20 runs in 12 balls with 2 fours and 1 six. Mayan Yadav was out for 4 runs. Lofty Eaton, who was run out in the last over, scored 41 runs for Janakpur. He hit 4 fours and 1 six in 30 balls.