Sudurpashchim Loses 9 Wickets; Airi and Dhami Also Return to Pavilion
During the 13th over, defending champions Lumbini Lions took 9 wickets from former runners-up Sudurpashchim Royals. In the opening match of the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), Lumbini Lions exerted pressure on Sudurpashchim Royals by dismissing 9 of their wickets. Kishor Mahto dismissed Deependra Singh Airi and Hemant Dhami, intensifying the pressure on Sudurpashchim. The Royals were struggling at 56 runs for 9 wickets. 9 Kartik, Kathmandu.
In the 12.3 and 12.4 overs, Kishor Mahto took the wickets of Royals’ captain Deependra Singh Airi and Hemant Dhami respectively. Earlier, in the 10th over, Sher Mall took two wickets. He dismissed Scott Kuggeleijn lbw as the seventh wicket. After the umpire initially did not give the dismissal, Lumbini Lions captain Rohit Paudel opted for a review. The ball tracking showed pitching outside off, impact in line, and hitting the stumps.
At 9.2 overs, Sudurpashchim lost Sherfan Rutherford off the bowling of Sher Mall. Rutherford attempted a big shot but only managed to hit the ball upwards, resulting in a catch by Asif Sheikh at long on. Currently, Sudurpashchim Royals are fighting with 56 runs on the board. Previously, Sudurpashchim lost Ishan Pandey as the fifth wicket, who was caught by captain Rohit Paudel off Tilakaraj Bhandari’s bowling for Lumbini Lions.
In the 3.1 over, Lumbini’s Sher Mall also dismissed Sudurpashchim opener Vinod Bhandari. Shortly after, Arif Sheikh was out without scoring after playing less than an over; he was dismissed by Kishor Mahto. Mahto also bowled Brandon McMullen in the 4.4 over, who had scored two runs off two balls. Sudurpashchim previously lost Saif Ali Zaib as the fourth wicket.