Lumbini, who secured a place in the playoffs by winning their last three matches of the league stage, will face Sudurpaschim Royals in the final on Saturday.
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Batting in the second innings of the first two matches of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) playoffs was a tough task. Lumbini Lions proved that in Qualifier 2 against Biratnagar Kings on Thursday, advancing to the final.
Lumbini defeated Biratnagar by 40 runs at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur. Lumbini, which has secured a place in the playoffs by winning its last three matches in the league stage, will face Sudurpaschim Royals in the final on Saturday.
Lumbini has secured the title clash by winning its fifth consecutive match. Lumbini had defeated Kathmandu Gorkhas by 4 wickets in the Eliminator on Wednesday, while Biratnagar had lost to last year's runner-up Sudurpaschim by 77 runs in Qualifier 1. Before that, Lumbini had defeated Biratnagar by 5 wickets in the group stage.
After winning the toss, Lumbini, who was invited to bat, could only score 134 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Biratnagar was bowled out for 94 runs in 17.5 overs after Tilak Raj Bhandari took 3 wickets. This was the second consecutive match where Biratnagar was bowled out for less than 100 runs.
‘It was a pitch that required batting considering the conditions, but the way we batted, we were 20-25 runs short of the total score,’ said Lumbini’s Australian batter D’RC Shott, ‘We came from a position where we had to win all the games in the league stage, now we will win the final too.’
Shott and captain Rohit Poudel shared a half-century partnership, but Lumbini could not score a big score. After Dinesh Adhikari was dismissed for 1 run in the second over, they shared a 69-run partnership in 56 balls for the second wicket. Rohit scored 30 runs in 30 balls, including 2 fours and a six, before being bowled by Subash Bhandari.
D’RC became the third victim of Subash, who bowled brilliantly. He scored a high of 45 runs in 41 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six. He was dismissed in the 14th over. Biratnagar returned to the game with Sandeep Jora and JJ Smith dismissed for zero and Dilip Nath for 1 run. Sher Malla was out for 7 runs in 7 balls. Ruben Trumpelman remained unbeaten on 11 and Abhishek Gautam remained unbeaten on 2 runs.
Subash and Pratish GC took 3 wickets each from Biratnagar. Subash, who took the first 3 wickets, proved his decision to return to the team by spending only 14 runs in 4 overs. Pratish spent 27 runs in 4 overs. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane took 2 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs.
Leg-break bowler Tilak took 3 wickets for 15 runs in 4 overs. Abhishek Gautam and the Namibian pair Trumpelman and Smit took 2-2 and Sher took 1 wicket. Abhishek had spent 22 runs in 4 overs, Trumpelman had spent 9 runs in 3 overs and Smit had spent 15 runs in 2.5 overs.
Batsman-laden Biratnagar lost 3 important wickets after scoring 6 runs. Trumpelman dismissed Martin Guptill for 2 and Lokesh Bam for zero in consecutive balls. In the next over, Sher bowled Faf du Plessis for 3 runs. Shankar Rana was out for 7 runs.
Sam Hazlett top-scored for Biratnagar with 34 runs. He hit 2 fours and 2 sixes in 28 balls. Merchant de Lange made 17, Bashir Ahmed and captain Sandeep Samman made 3, and Pratish GC made 2 runs. Naren Bhatt was the last player to be out. He scored 21 runs in 21 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes.
Biratnagar coach Dhammika Prasad said that they did not understand the pitch well in deciding to bat after winning the toss. He said, "As a team, we did not play well. From a batting perspective, our batters have to take responsibility. There is no forgiveness in such a situation. This is a target that can be pursued. After losing 3 wickets in the power-play, the situation became difficult."
