Winless Lumbini Lions defeated Chitwan Rhinos by 33 runs in the Nepal Premier League on Tuesday at the TU International Cricket Ground. Having put to bat first, Lumbini Lions posted 167 runs in 20 overs in tricky morning conditions. At the chase, Chitwan Rhinos fell short by 33 runs, which handed them their second defeat in the competition.
Struggles at the Start
The Lumbini Lions had a bad start to their first innings. They lost two batters at the top early, Ashutosh Ghiraiya and Unmukt Chand, who were bowled by left-arm pacer Rijan Dhakal in a brilliant in-swinging delivery into the stumps. Rijan’s first-over clip got praised by legendary Indian left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan on social media. Arjun Saud (15) then became a victim of young Ranjit Kumar in the 7th over, followed by Tom Moores (10), who was dismissed by Rhinos skipper Kushal Malla.
A Crucial Partnership
Lumbini looked in all sorts of trouble till the 8th over as they had already lost four wickets for 49 runs. Rohit Paudel and Saad Bin Zafar then did a rescue act for Lumbini, adding a century partnership for the fifth wicket. Rohit Paudel has been in red-hot form despite his team’s poor performance. He has been leading from the front as a captain and is the leading run-getter in the tournament, with 261 runs to his name in five innings.
Paudel scored a crafty 80 runs from 57 deliveries, which was laced with six boundaries and five maximums. Saad Bin Zafar also added a valuable 52 from 35, comprising a six and four boundaries.
Rhinos Struggles Continue
Rijan Dhakal was the best bowler for Chitwan. He picked up three wickets from his four overs, leaking 29 runs in the process. Captain Kushal Malla and Ranjit Kumar also added a wicket each to their names. The tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Sohail Tanveer, had a match to forget with dropped catches and remaining wicketless from his four overs.
Chitwan Rhinos again had a change in their opening pair, with the player of the match from the previous match, Hassan Eisakhil, being dropped from the eleven. He was replaced by Luc Benkenstein. Santosh Karki opened the innings together with Bipin Rawal. The change in the opening pair failed to create an impact for the Rhinos as they lost both of them with just 16 runs on the board inside three overs.
Lumbini Dominate with Spin
Sohail Tanveer was given a promotion to number three to utilize the powerplay with his big-hitting abilities, but he could only add a run to his name and was caught and bowled by captain Rohit Paudel in the first ball of the fourth over.
Luc Benkenstein tried to anchor the innings together with Ravi Bopara, but both were dismissed by the spin pair of Rohit Paudel and young Abhishesh Gautam. Rest no batters showed a sign of fight for the Rhinos in the chase, and ultimately, they fell short by 33 runs.
Paudel’s All-round Heroics
Captain Rohit Paudel starred with the ball as well. He returned figures of 4-0-17-4 and was well supported by Ramon Simmonds, who added two wickets to his name, leaking 22 runs. Left-arm spinners Saad Bin Zafar and Abhishesh Gautam also chipped in a wicket each.
This loss marked the second loss for Chitwan Rhinos in the competition. They now will have to win at least a match from their remaining two matches to confirm their spot in the top four, whereas the chances of Lumbini making it into the top four appear very slim.
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