An explosive unbeaten cameo from captain Karan KC guided Kathmandu Gorkhas to 157 for eight against Lumbini Lions in their Nepal Premier League (NPL) encounter at the TU International Cricket Ground on Tuesday. Lumbini now need 158 runs to win.

Sent in to bat after losing the toss, the Gorkhas made a slow start, losing opener Ben Charlesworth in the first over to Sher Malla. Rashid Khan, promoted to No. 3, struck two boundaries in his 14 off 10 balls, while opener Aakash Tripathi anchored the innings with 32 from 36 deliveries.

Milind Kumar contributed 17, Santosh Yadav hit a brisk 26 off 16 with two sixes, and Gerhard Erasmus added 17 from 15. However, the defining moment came in the 19th over when Karan unleashed a stunning assault on Namibian pacer Ruben Trumpelmann, smashing four sixes and a four to collect 31 runs. He finished on an unbeaten 34 from just 11 balls, including one four and four sixes.

Aadil Alam Ansari scored four, while Sahab Alam remained not out on one.

Lumbini’s bowlers shared the spoils, with Sher Malla, captain Rohit Paudel, Gulbadin Naib and Trumpelmann all taking two wickets each. Sher conceded 33 runs from four overs, Paudel gave away nine in his single over, Naib returned figures of 3-20 and Trumpelmann finished with 2-43 from his four.