If Sudurpaschim, which has already secured a place in the playoffs, defeats Chitwan, the team will advance to Qualifier-1. Chitwan is under pressure to win this match and the match against Pokhara Avengers on Saturday to reach the playoffs.
What you should know
Sudurpaschim Royals, with opener Chris Lynn scoring 75 runs, set a target of 170 runs for Chitwan Rhinos in the second match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket on Thursday. Invited to bat after Chitwan captain Kushal Malla won the toss at the Tribhuvan University Cricket International Ground in Kirtipur, Sudurpaschim scored 169 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Lin was also very lucky. Chitwan captain Kushal Malla managed to drop Lin's easy return catch when he was on 2 runs. This cost Chitwan a lot. He hit 5 fours and 3 sixes in a total of 56 balls. He retired hurt in the 17th over.
Lin's opening pair Binod Bhandari scored 21 runs in 17 balls with 2 fours and 1 six. Ishan Pandey 1, Punit Mehra, who was playing his first match in the tournament, was out for 13, and Harmeet Singh was out for 1 run. Arif Sheikh and captain Deependra Singh Airi both remained unbeaten on 24 runs. Arif hit 2 fours and 1 six in 16 balls and Deependra hit 2 sixes in 14 balls.
Saif Zaib took 2 wickets from Chitwan. He spent 35 runs in 4 overs. Ranjit Kumar took 16 in 4 overs and George Scrimshaw took 1 wicket each, spending 40 runs in 4 overs.
Sudurpaschim is at the top of the table after winning its first 5 games. If Sudurpaschim, which has already secured a place in the playoffs, defeats Chitwan, the team will advance to Qualifier-1. Chitwan is under pressure to win this game and the game against Pokhara Avengers on Saturday to reach the playoffs.
