Shahab became the first player in NPL history to take a hat-trick. Left-arm spinner Shahab took 6 wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs.
What you should know
Kathmandu Gorkhaz secured a place in the playoffs by defeating Pokhara Avengers by 13 runs in the first match of Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket on Thursday after Shahab Alam took six wickets, including a hat-trick.
When Pokhara needed 20 runs to win in the last over, Shahab took consecutive wickets in the first 3 balls and after taking a hat-trick wicket, Pokhara, who had come with a target of 166 runs, were all out for 152 runs in 20 overs at the Tribhuvan Cricket International Stadium, Kirtipur.
This is Kathmandu's fourth consecutive win. This has greatly strengthened Kathmandu's chances of reaching Qualifier 1 by staying in the top 2 positions. Kathmandu, which has played all 7 matches in the league stage, is currently in second place with 5 wins.
Shahab is the first player to take a hat-trick in NPL history. Shahab took 4 wickets in the last over. Devrehate spinner Shahab took 6 wickets in 4 overs for 25 runs. This is also the best bowling in NPL history. Last year, Karnali Yaks' William Bosisto took 6 wickets for 28 runs against Pokhara.
Rishi Dhawan kept Pokhara's hopes alive until the last over by scoring 54 runs. Shahab dismissed him on the first ball of the last over. Then Shahab stumped Bipin Khatri on the second ball and caught Akash Chand to complete his hat-trick. Sagar Dhakal caught him on the fourth ball, but Shahab took 6 wickets after taking the last ball.
Dhawan hit 3 fours and 2 sixes in 31 balls. Dhananjay Lakshman scored 30 runs in 27 balls including 1 four, and captain Kushal Bhurtel scored 22 runs in 20 balls including 2 sixes. Adam Rossington 5, Jason Roy 16, Tritaraj Das 9, Kiran Thagunna 5 were out.
Apart from Shahab, captain Karan KC and Sunny Patel took 2 wickets each for 25 runs in 4 overs.
Earlier, Kathmandu, who were invited to bat after losing the toss on half-centuries by Ben Charlesworth and Bhim Sarki, scored 165 runs in the stipulated 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets.
Charlesworth scored 64 runs in 55 balls. He was dismissed in the 19th over and hit 5 fours and 2 sixes. Bhim completed his half-century in 19 balls, which is the second-lowest half-century in NPL history. Player of the Match Bhim hit 5 fours and 4 sixes in a total of 23 balls.
Kathmandu did not start well. Akash Tripathi was bowled by Lakshman in the first over. Rashid Khan was dismissed for 7 runs in 12 balls after hitting 1 six. Bhim played big shots after Milind Kumar was dismissed for 13, John Simpson for 2 and Adil Alam Ansari for 7 runs. Captain Karan KC, who faced the last 2 balls, was dismissed for 4 runs.
Lakshman took 4 wickets from Pokhara. He took 2 wickets in the last over and gave away 16 runs in 4 overs, including 1 maiden. Kushal took 2 wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs, while Bipin Khatri and Kiran took 1 wicket each.
