KATHMANDU, Dec 17: The four teams to play the playoffs in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket have been decided through the final match of the group stage held on Monday.
Sudurpaschim Royals, Janakpur Bolts, Chitwan Rhinos and Karnali Yaks have secured their spots in the top four. Kathmandu Gurkhas, Biratnagar Kings, Pokhara Avengers, and Lumbini Lions are the other three teams that have been eliminated in the initial stage.
At the end of the group stage Royals are at the top of the pile with 12 points while Bolts are at the second place with 10 points. They will compete for a spot in the final through the first qualifier. Similarly, Rhinos will face Yaks in the eliminator. Both the first qualifier and eliminator matches will be held on Wednesday.
Royals reach NPL final after defeating Bolts in first qualifier
The defeated team in the first qualifier will compete against the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier on Thursday. The final match will kick off at 12:30 pm on Saturday at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.
All four playoff teams were decided on Monday after Royals defeated Yaks by 6 wickets in the final match. Despite having the same 8 points, Yaks secured a spot in the top four, surpassing Kathmandu Gurkhas on net run rate, although they lost the final match.
In the final match, if Royals had completed the target of 102 runs set by Yaks within 12.2 overs without losing any wicket, Gurkhas would have reached the playoffs. Yaks reached the playoffs due to their better run rate than Gurkhas despite accumulating equal points (eight) after Royals lost three wickets in 12.2 overs and scored only 72 runs.
Invited to bat first after having lost the toss, Yaks amassed a low total of 101 runs. Zeeshan Maqsood scored the highest of 30 runs off 35 balls, William Bosisto scored 16 runs, opener Babar Hayat scored 13 runs and Chadwick Walton and captain Sompal Kami scored 11 runs each. From Royals’ bowling attack, Harmeet Singh claimed three wickets, captain Dipendra Singh Airee and Scott Kuggeleijn took two wickets each and Saif Zaib took one wicket.
Royals’ successful chase was propelled by the contribution of 38 runs each from captain Airee and Ishan Pandey.
