Both Kathmandu Gorkhas and Lumbini Lions were on a high when they began the second season of the Nepal Premier League. Gorkhas defeated title defenders Janakpur Bolts in the season opener on November 17, while the Lions downed Chitwan Rhinos on November 20.

But both teams suffered losses in their second game. Lumbini lost against Karnali Yaks, on November 20, when Mark Watt smashed the tournament’s first century to help the Yaks win by nine wickets.

Kathmandu, on the other hand, lost to Sudurpaschim Royals by 29 runs on November 19 and then to Biratnagar Kings by five wickets on November 22.

When the Gorkhas faced the Lions on Tuesday, it was the fourth match for the former and the third for the latter. And both were in dire need of a win to keep their hopes for the playoffs alive as the Kings and Royals had moved ahead with three wins in three matches, cementing the fact that only two spots remained in the top four.

Electing to field first in front of what was the smallest crowd of the season at the TU International Cricket Stadium, Lions and Gorkhas put up a competitive contest.

Lumbini, led by Nepal’s national team skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel, were having a good time with the ball. When Gerhard Erasmus (17 off 15) got caught out at 17.4 overs as the seventh wicket, the Gorkhas were at 117 runs.

Ben Charlesworth had departed as the first wicket for a golden duck. He was followed by Rashid Khan (14 off 10), Aakash Tripathi (32 off 36), John Simpson (7 off 3), Milind Kumar (17 off 20) and Santosh Yadav (26 off 16).

But when Karan KC, Kathmandu’s skipper, entered the crease as the ninth batsman, he turned the tides. Playing the first two deliveries, which was the last two of the 18th over, KC took a two and then a single to keep himself at the strike. And in the 19th over, which was bowled by Ruben Trumplemann, the Namibian left-arm pacer, KC hit four sixes and a four. At the end of the over, KC was at 31 off 8, and the team’s score had reached 151/7.

Afghanistan’s all-rounder Gulbadin Naib started the last over of the innings sending Mohammad Adil Alam (4 off 7) back to the pavilion, and gave away only six more runs. KC stood unbeaten at 34 off 11.

Of the seven bowlers used by Lumbini, Trumplemann, Sher Malla, Naib and Paudel bagged two wickets each as Kathmandu finished the first innings at 157/8.

“We were expecting to defend the total once the score crossed the 150-run mark,” Tripathi said after the win. “It was a must-win match for us, and we are happy to have been the better side.”

Lions’ fight insufficient

With a moderate target, Lumbini were in the chase until the final over, but they ultimately fell short of 22 runs, suffering their second straight defeat in three matches.

Lumbini lost the patience in the chase, leading to wickets falling down consecutively.

They had a good start, earning 18 runs from the first over bowled by KC. However, the second over saw the departure of Sundeep Jora (7 off 5). D’Arcy Short (22 off 11) was hitting boundaries with ease, but he got out after a short dismissal, and was followed by Gulbadin Naib (11 off 6) and Paudel (11 off 16).

JJ Smit, Sumit Maharjan and Trumplemann departed one after another as the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets, respectively, all without reaching the double figures. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dilip Nath (25 off 33) was holding his ground, but he too was caught out in the 16th over, leaving the team faltering at 104/8.

Ninth in the list of the batsmen, Malla was the one who raised the hopes for Lumbini when he smashed three sixes in a row in the third, fourth and fifth deliveries of the 17th over bowled by Shahab Alam. But while trying to keep the strike in the first ball of the 18th over, Malla (27 off 18) got run out.

“It was a chaseable target,” Malla said in the post-match conference. “As we lost early wickets for soft dismissals, we fell short.”

From 126/9 at 17.1 overs, Lumbini’s last two batsmen—Abhishesh Gautam (4 off 8) and Tilak Bhandari (6 off 8)—could only manage nine more runs before getting bundled out at 135 runs in the first ball of the 20th over.

All of the six bowlers used by Kathmandu picked at least one wicket each. KC, Alam, Santosh Yadav and Rashid Khan took one each, while Kumar and Erasmus claimed two each.

Meanwhile, Malla argued that the team was not losing motivation yet. “It was only our third match,” he said. “We still have four matches to go. And we will come back to win those remaining games.”

Biratnagar Kings will be putting their winning streak to test against Chitwan Rhinos in the only match of Wednesday.