Lumbini Lions Clinch NPL Second Edition Title

Lumbini Lions overwhelmed Sudurpaschim Royals with a powerful six-wicket victory at the TU International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur to finally win the Nepal Premier League trophy for the second time. Lumbini’s victory in the competition is, however, the highlight of their performances.

Sudurpaschim Royals, on the other hand, are to be credited for once again finishing second, having been the first-edition runners-up before losing to Janakpur Bolts in the final. Their failure to win the trophy in their second straight final appearance is a clear indication of Lumbini’s better performance and match-winning confidence.

The financial benefits that came with the championship clearly identified Lumbini as the rightful winners, as they received Rs 11 million along with the trophy, while the second-placed Sudurpaschim got Rs 5.1 million. Lumbini reached their target of 86 runs set by Sudurpaschim in only nine overs despite losing four wickets, which means that they were very efficient and composed throughout the championship decider.

Dinesh Adhikari was the star performer for Lumbini with his impressive 42 runs off just 13 balls, which included one four and five sixes. Captain Rohit Paudel was the next contributor with 16 runs in 12 balls; following him was D’Arcy Short, who scored 14 runs, and Niroshan Dickwella was left not out on 11 runs. It was a great team effort in batting that allowed Lumbini to smoothly move on to the championship without any major issues in their batting department.

In the beginning, Sudurpaschim had a hard time after winning the toss and opted to bat, getting 85 runs all out in just 19.1 overs. Ishan Pandey was the top scorer with 33 runs, and captain Dipendra Singh Airee could manage only 13 runs. The bowling of Lumbini was nightmarish, and no one was able to escape its choke; Malla, Trampelman, and Paudel took three wickets each with the help of Bhandari’s one wicket.