Chitwan Rhinos put up a decent showing in the inaugural season of the Nepal Premier League in 2024. With four wins in seven games, they had finished third in the league stage and entered the Eliminator, where they lost to Karnali Yaks.

From that, the Rhinos dropped to seventh position by the end of the league stage in the second season. They could manage only two wins last year.

Coming to the third season, the Rhinos have managed one win in three matches. While the Rhinos had their second fixture against Lumbini Lions cancelled due to rain on Saturday, their first loss of the season came against Sudurpaschim Royals, the two-time finalists, on Monday.

Chitwan were the team to have handed the Royals their only defeat of the league stage in the first season. But they lost to the Royals in the second and third seasons.

Having been invited to bat first, the Rhinos, again without their marquee Kushal Malla, could only manage 129/6 in the first innings. Moreover, Chitwan also made a change in captaincy in the third game. 

Ravi Bopara, who captained the Rhinos in their first two matches, was replaced by Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s all-time leading T20I run scorer, on Monday.

It was Bopara who scored the highest for Chitwan. He departed at 49 off 40 while trying to complete his half-century with a six. There were not many significant contributions from other batters.

Chitwan would also need to improve their fielding. There were many catches dropped by the Rhinos, which, in the end, cost them the match against the Royals.

For Sudurpaschim, Scott Kuggeleijn picked two wickets, while Hemant Dhami, Dipendra Singh Airee and Anil Kharel took one each. 

In turn, the Royals did not have much to fear while chasing the low target. All they aimed for was to prevent early wickets and build partnerships.

But it is never easy.

The Royals had lost four wickets by the seventh over. Openers Saif Zaib (2 off 5) and Binod Bhandari (11 off 7) could not give a good start. And they were followed by Brandon McMullen (43 off 21) and Airee (0 off 1)—both removed by Ranjeet Kumar in consecutive deliveries.

Kumar picked three wickets in his four overs, while Rijal Dhakal and Mousam Dhakal bagged one each.

The Rhinos were back in the game after Airee’s wicket, but Ishan Pandey and Aarif Sheikh foiled it. The duo stood for a 33-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but ensured that the team was close to the target.

After Pandey (25 off 29), Sheikh (20 off 26) partnered with Sherfane Rutherford (21 off 15) to complete the chase in 16.4 overs.

However, this loss will not let the Rhinos lose their hopes for the season. 

“It was not a match we wanted to lose,” Kumar said in the post-match press conference. “The match just didn’t go our way.”

But Kumar was confident where the team was heading into the third season.

“Personally, I will help my team win the next match,” Kumar said. “In whole, the team is aiming to reach the finals and lift the trophy this time.”