A half century from Sundeep Jora gave Janakpur Royals a convincing 82-run victory over Far West United as they inched closer to the playoffs in the NepalT20 League at the TU cricket ground in Kirtipur on Monday.

Sent in to bat, Janakpur posted 161/7 after Jora cracked a 32-ball 55 and then bowled out Far West for 79 runs in 15.1 overs to strengthen their position in the team standings. They are now placed second on 10 points, two points adrift of leaders Lumbini All Stars, after playing an equal seven games.

Far West are languishing at the bottom of the table with two points from six matches. The top four teams at the end of the double round robin league would qualify for the playoffs.

West Indies batter Trevon Griffith and Afghani all-rounder Sharafuddin Ashraf gave a strong start to the innings, putting on a 52-run partnership for the opening wicket. Griffith contributed a 22-ball 32 that included two hits to the fence and two sixes. Ashraf played for a run-a-ball 20 before the duo were dismissed in the space of three deliveries in the seventh and eighth overs.

The player-of-the-match Jora hit a six and five boundaries. He was caught by Umair Ali off Prakash Jaishi. Rajesh Pulami contributed a 19-ball 16.

Far West bowler Jaishi grabbed three wickets in his four overs bowling spell, conceding 25 runs while Bhuvan Karki picked up two wickets.

Chasing the target, Far West opener Dev Khanal was dismissed for one run on the fourth delivery of the innings after he was caught by West Indies wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton off an Ashraf delivery. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi of Afghanistan contributed a run-a-ball 32, the highest of the innings. Lower middle order batter Rashid Khan (15-ball 17) and Bhim Sharki (13-ball 16) were the other notable batters to score in double digits.

Janakpur’s Afghani all-rounder Samiullah Shinwari returned with figures of 3-0-16-3 while Sompal Kami and Pawan Sarraf picked up two wickets each.

Pokhara edge past Kathmandu

The early kickoff saw Pokhara Avengers edge past Kathmandu Knights by five wickets after opener Sumit Maharjan and Sri Lankan batter Upul Tharanga scored a half century each to climb to the fourth spot with six points. Kathmandu stands third on an equal six points by virtue of their better net run rate.

Put in to bat, Kathmandu’s Malaysian opener Virandeep Singh and Sunam Gautam gave a solid start to the innings, putting up a 73-run stand and for the opening wicket and English batter Alex Blake cracked a half century as the team posted a score of 164/4.

Chasing the challenging total, opener Maharjan smashed a 52-ball 76 and Tharanga scored a 49-ball 58 to take their team to 168/5 with two balls to spare.

Maharjan and Tharanga, who came to bat at number four, shared a 112-run stand for the third wicket before the Sri Lankan was dismissed. Tharanga, trapped leg before by Anil Kharel, smacked five hits to the fence along with a maximum.

Maharjan hit seven boundaries and three sixes before Abinash Bohara had him caught by Gyanendra Malla. Kushal Malla contributed an unbeaten 14 runs.

Kamal Airee was the pick of Kathmandu bowling, claiming three wickets in his 3.4 overs spell, giving away 26 runs.

Kathmandu’s English batter Blake, batting at number three, played a breezy 64-run knock off 28 balls that included three hits to the fence and seven sixes. Pratis GC had him caught by Tharanga in the last over.

Opener Singh contributed 38 runs off 32 balls that included two hits to the fence and a six while Gautam scored 42 off 45 balls, comprising five boundaries. Singh was bowled by Kushal Malla while Tul Thapa accounted for Gautam, having him caught by Maharjan.

Thapa picked up two wickets in as many overs conceding 17 runs, while GC and Kushal Malla picked up a wicket each.