KATHMANDU, Dec 12: Janakpur Bolts have secured a spot in the playoffs of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) with one game in hand by defeating Kathmandu Gurkhas by five wickets on Thursday.
Bolts have 10 points from six matches and are scheduled to play against Chitwan Rhinos on Saturday in their last match of the inaugural season of the NPL.
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Bolts achieved the low target of 102 runs set by the Gurkhas at the loss of 5 wickets in 15.5 overs. Earlier, Gurkhas, who won the toss and decided to bat first, were bundled out for 101 runs in 19.3 overs. Gerhard Erasmus scored 20 runs, captain Karan KC scored 19 runs and Stephen Eskinazi scored 17 runs for Kathmandu Gurlkhas who batted poorly from the start. Other batters could not score double figures.
From the Bolts’ bowling attack, Lalit Rajbanshi and Sher Malla claimed three wickets each, Mohammad Mosin took two and Kishore Mahato and Arniko Yadav took one wicket apiece.
In return, the Bolts’ batting order played a calm and poised inning as James Neesham scored 27 runs off 17 balls with a four and three sixes and Harsh Thaker contributed 25 runs off 25 balls hitting a four and a six.
Although captain Karan KC took 2 wickets and Shahab Alam, Gerhard Erasmus and Dipesh Kandel took one wicket each, they could not avoid Gurkhas’ defeat. The Gurkhas, having secured four points, are currently two points off the playoff spot.
