Lumbini Lions captain Rohit Poudel's decision to field after winning the toss in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) on Wednesday was natural. But the challenge before him was huge. South African batting star Faf du Plessis came to the crease after Rohit invited Biratnagar Kings to bat.

George Mansi was the other batsman along with Du Plessis. Rohit tried to bowl to spinner Sher Malla in the first over and try to surround Biratnagar's batting. Sher did not disappoint his captain. Lumbini's confidence increased after Sher dismissed Mansi LBW for zero in the second ball. 

Abhishek Gautam was allowed to bowl the third over. Du Plessis hit a boundary in his first ball. But Abhishek showed magic in the last ball of the over. When Du Plessis went to step out, Abhishek made a 'sharp turn' and the ball went outside the off-stump and was stumped by Niroshan Dickwella.

Abhishek, who has been playing all the matches for Lumbini in the tournament, had taken 3 wickets in the previous 5 matches. He took the wicket of Josh Brown in the match against Sudurpaschim Royals. Similarly, he had dismissed Deepak Bohra and Dev Khanal against Chitwan Rhinos. 

Lumbini took control of the game after taking the important wickets of Mansi and Du Plessis. Biratnagar could only score 34 runs in the power play. The team could not go beyond the 59-2 position in 10 overs. Biratnagar could only score 144 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. 

Du Plessis, who was playing his first match in the NPL, could only score 12 runs. He hit 2 fours in 9 balls. Lokesh Bam, who came in at number three after he opened the batting, scored the highest 35 runs for Biratnagar. Lokesh, who hit 2-2 fours and a six in 42 balls, was cut and bowled by JJ Smit. Sam Hazlett scored 27 runs. He hit 1 four and 2 sixes in 20 balls.

Narayan Joshi 5, Pratish GC 11, Bashir Ahmed 28 with 1 four and 1 six in 19 balls and Sahil Patel 3 runs. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, who came to face the last ball of the innings, hit a six. Merchant de Lange remained unbeaten on 10 runs in 8 balls. Sher took 3 wickets from Lumbini. Player of the Match, he conceded only 25 runs in 4 overs. Abhishek took 1 wicket for 21 runs in 4 overs. Namibian duo Ruben Trumpelman took 24 runs in 4 overs and Smit took 1 wicket each for 34 runs in 3 overs. 

After D'Arcy shot scored 57 runs in 44 balls, Lumbini achieved the target by 5 wickets in 17.4 overs at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur. Lumbini, who have recorded their third win in 6 matches, still have hopes of reaching the playoffs. Lumbini is currently in fourth place. 

Lumbini will have a chance of securing the playoffs only if they defeat Janakpur Bolts in their last match. This is Biratnagar's second defeat in 6 matches. Biratnagar, who is in third place with 8 points, will play its last match against Sudurpaschim Royals on Saturday. 

Australian batter Shot played a crucial role in Lumbini's victory by hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes. This was his first half-century in the tournament. He and Dickwella shared a 46-run partnership in 24 balls. Shot and Sumit Maharjan had given Lumbini a good start by adding 29 runs in the first 4 overs. However, in the fifth over, Subash Bhandari tried to bring Biratnagar back into the game by dismissing Sumit for 10 and captain Rohit for zero. Subash, who stumped Sumit, got Rohit caught brilliantly by du Plessis.