Lumbini Lions, led by Nepal’s national team skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel, started as the last team to play in the NPL on Thursday, similar to their first campaign. However, the team, who finished at the bottom of the table last season, began their second season with a win. The Lions had only managed one win in the inaugural season—that too against Chitwan Rhinos in their fifth match—but this time they began their campaign with a win in the first game. And it was again the same opponent they had defeated last season.

The Lions defeated the Rhinos by six wickets at the TU International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Having elected to bowl first, Lumbini restricted Chitwan to 142/7 in the first inning, thanks to the knock of Ravi Bopara and cameos from Kushal Malla and Saif Zaib.

In turn, Lumbini chased the total with nine balls in hand, losing only four wickets. Gulbadin Naib (44 off 24), who was dropped twice, and JJ Smit (4 off 4) ensured the chase was complete. Rohit Kumar Paudel (39 off 44) and Sundeep Jora (28 off 18) also contributed well.

Sameer’s dream debut

A new name was in the Playing XI of Lumbini Lions when their squad was announced on Thursday. Sameer Ali Musalman, a young wicketkeeper-batsman selected from the franchises’ Talent Hunt, was making his debut on the big stage.

His face had the softness of youth, but he looked alert and eager, as if he belonged there, amidst some great cricketing names of the country and beyond. Musalman was the first choice even though Dilip Nath, a wicketkeeper in the domestic scene who has also spent his time behind the stumps for the national men’s team, was in the playing set.

But the team had placed their belief on the younger hands, who had played in the U16 and U18 teams of Lumbini Province before. And he did not disappoint.

“I saw Sameer play when I was in Bhairahawa some time ago,” said Lumbini’s skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel in the post-match conference. “He [Sameer] was playing for the opponent, and he batted very well.”

Further, Paudel informed that Sameer was a good wicketkeeping option. “Dilip has an injury in his hand making him work behind the stumps difficult. We have got a good option in Sameer, and he showed his abilities today.”

Musalman was good at the job. It was established when he made a wide dive to prevent a wide delivery of pacer Trumplemann in the first over. He was good with the grab, collecting the balls that reached him cleanly, preventing byes and overthrows, and ready for runouts and stumping.

He did not get any catching opportunities, but when he got the chance for a stumping, he rose to the occasion. With a quick reflex, Musalman was faster to pluck the bails before Chitwan’s opener Deepak Bohara (10 off 12) could get his bat down after missing the ball off spinner Abhishesh Gautam.

According to skipper Paudel, the NPL is going to be a platform based on which the players will be selected for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is taking place in India and Sri Lanka in February next year.

Bopara’s consistency

Ravi Bopara is currently the leading runscorer of overall Nepal Premier League. The second-highest run scorer of the inaugural NPL last year with 286 runs in 10 innings, falling short of only seven runs to Lahiru Milantha (293 runs in 10 innings), Bopara has started the second season on a high.

While he helped Chitwan chase 167 against Karnali Yaks, with 52 off 36 on Tuesday, he smashed a 55-ball 66 with four fours and three sixes on Thursday. It was his fifth NPL 50.

Bopara entered the crease after Chitwan lost their second wicket for 16 runs in 3.2 overs. And when Bopara got out as the sixth wicket in 19.2 overs, the Rhinos had posted 136 runs on the board.

The former English international now has 404 runs in the NPL. The ones close to him are Saif Zaib (328 runs) and Milantha (300 runs).

“It is to wait and adapt,” Bopara said when asked about the reason behind his consistency in the post-match presentation. “Starting to hit big from the very first delivery does not always go right.”

Electing to bowl first not paying off

As the TU International Cricket Stadium resumed operation after eight months, even the players and coaches, who had spent years playing there, were unsure of how the three different pitches to be used in the tournament would react, that too at a new situation: at winter night under floodlights.

“As we were unsure of the pitch’s reaction, we decided to bowl first,” Kathmandu Gorkhas’s skipper Karan KC said in the post-match conference after defeating Janakpur Bolts in the tournament opener on Monday.

Following the Gorkhas’ win after fielding first and prioritising the dew conditions’ effect on bowlers after sunset, every team that won the toss decided to bowl first. Chitwan Rhinos decided the same when they won the toss against Karnali, and they won the match.

However, it has not gone in the favour of the team fielding first every time. In the third and fourth matches of the season, Pokhara Avengers and Kathmandu Gorkhas lost after fielding first against Biratnagar Kings and Sudurpaschim Royals, respectively. But Lumbini capitalised on the conditions today.

“It was difficult to bat at first today. The ball was going away from the bat,” said Bopara. “But as the dew came in with the day getting darker, it got easier for the batters. I felt that we should have had one more spinner in these conditions.”

One match each for all teams

The fourth match day of 2nd NPL saw all eight franchises play at least one match each. It was Lumbini Lions’ first match of the season, while it was the second for Chitwan Rhinos.

As things turned out, Lumbini started their campaign with a win, accumulating two points. Chitwan, meanwhile, remained stagnant at two points they earned against Karnali. Kathmandu Gorkhas are the only other team to have played two matches in the season, of which they won one—against Janakpur Bolts on Monday—and lost the other—against Sudurpaschim Royals on Wednesday.

There are now five teams—Kathmandu, Sudurpaschim, Chitwan, Biratnagar and Lumbini—with two points each in the points table. Pokhara will be looking to register their first win when they face Sudurpaschim Royals in Friday’s only fixture.