In their first game of the Nepal Premier League, Chitwan Rhinos achieved a surprising victory by chasing 166 runs of Karnali Yaks’ innings with 6 wickets left. Ravi Bopara and Saif Zaib were the main players in the beautiful batting show.
Zaib’s quickfire runs and Bopara’s calmness helped Chitwan reach the target in just 19.1 overs. The team spirit is the win of the season—will the Chitwan Rhinos be able to take the momentum forward?
Chitwan won by 4 wicketsÂ
The game had it all to offer—huge runs, sudden ups and downs and a nail-biting finish. The opener Priyank Panchal provided 90 runs in just 48 balls that included 7 fours and 6 sixes, which were the main cause of the target of 166 runs that Karnali set. Panchal was on the verge of a century but ended up 10 runs short. Together with the quick-fire 27 of O’Dowd and Sarraf, Karnali felt that they had enough runs to win.
But Chitwan had other plans still. Their chase was a masterclass in aggressive cricket, with veteran Ravi Bopara leading the charge with a commanding 52 runs. When tension increased after Bopara’s wicket, the explosive Saif Zaib took over, hitting an incredible 38 off just 16 balls, including four enormous sixes, to completely reverse the situation.
Captain Kushal Malla and Deepak Bohara were there to hold the fort while Arjun Saud kept his composure to finish the job with five balls to spare. Chitwan cruised to victory with four wickets in hand in just 19.1 overs, thus declaring themselves as serious contenders in the NPL 2025 campaign as they stunned everyone with a magnificent victory.
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