Despite a few empty seats reserved for seasonal ticket holders in the Chovar Zone, Wednesday’s sole clash between Biratnagar Kings and Lumbini Lions was a sold out, confirmed by both ticket sales and the heaving general stands. But the crowd’s magnet wasn’t the matchup; it was a single individual: Faf du Plessis.

South Africa’s du Plessis is a name well-known in the global cricketing scene. He has represented the Proteas across 69 Tests, 143 ODIs and 50 T20Is, having scored 10,000+ runs in the three formats.

“Classy, composed and a fine crafter of innings, Faf du Plessis emerged as one of South Africa’s most consistent batsmen in the post-Jacques Kallis era,” ESPNcricinfo, a leading cricket website in the world, writes on its profile of du Plessis.

How great of a cricketer du Plessis is can also be hinted at by his accolades in the Indian Premier League, the world’s biggest franchise cricket tournament. A two-time IPL champion with Chennai Super Kings in 2019 and 2021, du Plessis has also played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Capitals. He is 13th in the list of leading runscorers in the IPL with 4,773 runs in 147 innings (154 matches).

Having played in over 20+ franchises across the globe, du Plessis is currently in Nepal to grace the Nepal Premier League. Biratnagar Kings had announced du Plessis’ signing on October 31. However, due to his commitment to Vista Riders in the Abu Dhabi T10 (November 18 to 30), he finally landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday.

“I’ve seen on social media how passionate Nepali fans are,” du Plessis said at the press conference after arrival at the airport. “I enjoy playing in front of packed crowds. Biratnagar has been performing well, and I’ll try to contribute even more. I’ve played in leagues around the world. Being nearby made it easier to come here.”

Welcomed with loud cheers of his name at the stadium, alongside a big banner of ‘Welcome Faf du Plessis’ hung at the general stands by his fans, the batsman, however, did not have an expected start in the Festival of Himalayas. While he could not showcase his abilities at full with the bat on his NPL debut, du Plessis’ Biratnagar also suffered their second defeat of the season on Wednesday.

Being invited to bat first after losing the toss, Biratnagar had du Plessis come up front on the non-striker end with Scotland’s George Munsey facing the first delivery. And after a dot in the spell of Sher Malla, Munsey was struck leg-before for a duck in the very second ball of the innings.

With a unique batting stance, a heavy backlift to pat the turf before the ball comes in, du Plessis raised the roofs with two fours. But when he tried to hit his first maximum in the last ball of the third over bowled by Abhishesh Gautam by coming out of the crease, he misread the turn and got stumped out at 12 off 9.

It was as if the wickets of the Biratnagar openers gave the Lions a big motivation because the bowlers kept the Kings batters in check after that. There was a 55-run partnership for the third wicket between Lokesh Bam and Sam Heazlett, but it required 52 balls. With 70 runs on the board in 11.4 overs, Bam departed at 35 off 42 after being caught and bowled by JJ Smit.

“It was not a good total,” Bam said after the loss. “It was my fault as well since I could not contribute more despite being set.”

Malla was again in the front row for the Lions, sending Narayan Joshi (5 off 7) and Heazlett (27 off 20) back to the pavilion in the first and third balls of the 14th over. Basir Ahamad, the hero for the Kings with an unbeaten 62 off 43 in their win over Karnali Yaks on November 28, tried pulling the Kings back to the game, but he too departed at 28 off 19 in 19.2 overs bowled by Ruben Trumpelmann. By the end of the innings, the Kings were at 144/8, thanks to a six by Sandeep Lamichhane when he entered the crease to face the last ball of the innings.

Short’s storm takes Lions to Top 4

After the match ended with the Lions winning by five wickets, Australian D’Arcy Short was seen having a short conversation with Martin Guptill. Lifting his jersey up, Short was showing the bruise he sustained while being hit on the chest during the spell of Narayan Joshi in the 12th over.

Short was unhappy with the Kings as he was also hit on the back by wicketkeeper Sahil Patel when he was running for a short run to the non-striker’s end. He also had a brief confrontation during the spell of Pratish GC in the early part of the innings.

However, by the end, it was the Kings who were more dissatisfied with Short as his knock was what propelled the Lions to a much-needed victory. The win not only kept the Lions’ hopes for the playoffs alive; they climbed to the fourth position on the table with six points from three wins in six matches.

The Lions won by five wickets as they chased 145 runs with 14 balls remaining. Ahamad, bowling his first over of the match, gave a wide when the Lions required one run to win. The wide prevented the Lions from increasing their score and earning some crucial points in the net run rate, which could also affect the Kings, who have eight points from six matches and are due to face the dangerous Sudurpaschim Royals in their last league-stage match on Saturday, later.

Coming back to Wednesday’s match, it was Short who stole the show. With two sixes and six fours, Short, the opener for the Lions, was the fourth wicket to fall for Lumbini. When Short (57 off 44) departed in 13.2 overs being caught out by Bam while trying another maximum over deep extra cover in the spell of Lamichhane, the Lions required 33 runs off 40 deliveries.

By then, Sumit Maharjan (10 off 11), Rohit Kumar Paudel (0 off 3) and Sundeep Jora (24 off 15) had fallen victims to the Kings. While Maharjan was stumped out when youngster Subash Bhandari bowled his first ball of the NPL, Paudel was caught out by du Plessis, who was showing the world that he still was an outstanding fielder. Both, Maharjan and Paudel, were out in the same over.

Meanwhile, a 31-run fifth-wicket partnership between Niroshan Dickwella (29 off 22) and Dilip Nath (16 off 12), who departed in 17.3 overs, saw the Lions require only two more runs for the win. After a short run by Malla in the next delivery, Ahamad bowled the wide ball.

“It was exciting to play against du Plessis, a big name in cricket,” Jora said after the win. “But we were playing to win, not worrying about who we were up against.”

Six matches now remain in the league stage with only one team Sudurpaschim Royals ensuring their qualification to the playoffs. Thursday will see Kathmandu Gorkhas face Pokhara Avengers in the first match. The Royals will lock horns with Chitwan Rhinos later on in the day.