The Biratnagar Kings did not take the field on Thursday, yet they emerged as one of the day’s biggest winners. In a pivotal double-header at the TU International Cricket Stadium, the playoff picture for the second season of the Nepal Premier League is now almost complete, with the Kings securing a spot in the top-four as the third team thanks to results elsewhere.

The decisive moment came in the second match of the day, where the table-topping Sudurpaschim Royals defeated Chitwan Rhinos. The Rhinos’ loss was the final mathematical tumbler needed to lock the Kings into the playoffs. With Chitwan now unable to reach the eight-point mark, Biratnagar’s current tally of eight points ensures their progression, regardless of the result in their final league match against Sudurpaschim on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Kathmandu Gorkhas booked their own ticket to the knockouts with a hard-fought 13-run victory over Pokhara Avengers. The win in their final league-stage match lifted the Gorkhas to 10 points from seven games, safely cementing their place among the elite.

With these results, three of the four playoff spots are now officially claimed. The Royals led the charge as the first to qualify (currently unbeaten with 12 points), followed by the Gorkhas. Further, the Royals have ensured a seat in Qualifier 1 as the top two teams. From Qualifier 1, the winner reaches the final while the losing team will still have another shot at the final, facing the winner of Eliminator (third-placed team vs fourth-placed team) in Qualifier 2.

Meanwhile, the Kings now join the Royals and the Gorkhas, leaving just one spot remaining for the chasing pack.

For the Rhinos, Thursday was a double blow. Their defeat not only ended their pursuit of the Kings but also left them in a precarious battle for the final fourth spot.

The focus now shifts exclusively to the race for the fourth spot, where Net Run Rate will likely be the ultimate judge as Lumbini Lions, the Rhinos, the Avengers and defending champions Janakpur Bolts scramble to salvage their seasons in the final round of fixtures.

The equation for Friday is simple: if the Lions defeat the Bolts, the race is over. A victory would lift Lumbini to eight points—a ceiling that none of the trailing teams can now reach, regardless of their remaining results.

However, a Janakpur victory would throw the door wide open. If the Bolts upset the Lions, Lumbini would remain stuck on six points. This would allow the winner of the Chitwan-Pokhara clash to join them on six points, while also keeping Janakpur alive. In that scenario, the final playoff spot would likely be decided by Net Run Rate after Sunday’s league finale between Janakpur and Karnali Yaks, potentially creating a dramatic three-way deadlock.

Shahab Alam’s hat-trick, an NPL first

Pokhara’s skipper Kushal Bhurtel won the toss and invited Kathmandu to bat first. And thanks to a disciplined knock by opener Ben Charlesworth, who stayed until the 19th over before departing as the sixth wicket, the Gorkhas could stay alive in the first innings.

Bhim Sharki was also crucial for the Gorkhas. While the wickets kept falling on the other end and Charlesworth was alone, Sharki came in at seven and smashed a 19-ball fifty with five fours and four sixes. Charlesworth and Sharki were the ones who propelled the Gorkhas to a defendable total of 165/8.

Dhananjaya Lakshan bagged four wickets for the Avengers, while Bhurtel picked two. Bipin Khatri and Kiran Thagunna also claimed one each.

In turn, the Avengers were keeping themselves alive in the chase despite wickets falling every now and then. By the time Pokhara reached the 20th over, they required 20 runs from the last six deliveries, with India’s Rishi Dhawan, at 54 off 30, set to face one of Nepal’s best spinners, Shahab Alam.

Dhawan got caught out as the seventh wicket in the first ball while trying a six. Khatri came in, but he was stumped out, with Alam then requiring another wicket to become NPL’s first bowler to take a hat-trick. The third delivery of the last over, and Milind Kumar takes the catch of Aakash Chand to help Alam claim the accolade.

“Alam is a match-winner. He has proved it many times and today as well,” Sharki said after the win. “We will now focus on the games ahead.”

With one last wicket remaining and still 20 runs required off the remaining three balls, Rijan Dhakal smashed Alam for a six. But Alam bounced back with a dot ball, and then the wicket of Dhakal, who was caught out in the last ball of the innings by Karan KC. Alam then ended the match with a six-wicket haul, and the Gorkhas won by 13 runs.

It was only the second time that a bowler took six wickets in a NPL match, while Alam’s figure of 4-0-25-6 went on to become the best bowling figure in the NPL, besting William Bosisto, who took six wickets against Pokhara in the inaugural season, on runs given.

Alam is now the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 12 wickets. He joins Biratnagar’s Sandeep Lamichhane and Sudurpaschim’s Abinash Bohara.

Sudurpaschim’s unbeaten run

Sudurpaschim would have reached the playoffs unbeaten last season as well. But it was shattered by Chitwan Rhinos, when they defeated the Royals in their fourth match on December 8, 2024.

The Rhinos had a similar chance on Thursday, not only to put an end to the Royals’ five-match winning streak, but also to increase their hopes for the playoffs. However, none of them came true for Chitwan as they lost by 49 runs.

Winning the toss and electing to field first, the Rhinos restricted the Royals to 169/4. Chris Lynn was the major contributor with the bat for the Royals as he retired hurt after adding 75 off 56. With 24 runs each, skipper Dipendra Singh Airee and Aarif Sheikh took the Royals to the total.

Despite the target not looking so big, the Rhinos had to chase it against a team with high motivation from five wins in five matches. Similarly, they were also under pressure against one of the best fielding sides led by the likes of Airee.

It was also Airee who was behind the departure of the Rhinos’ openers. He was the one who ran for the ball and hit the stumps to send back Dawid Malan (6 off 9) in his own delivery. And it was also Airee who had Arjun Saud (16 off 15) caught out in his spell. He was also the one who caught Kushal Malla (15 off 14).

Malla, alongside Ravi Bopara (29 off 23) and Dev Khanal (28 off 19), showed some hope for the Rhinos, but it was insufficient. And in 17.1 overs, Kamal Singh Airee was clean bowled by Puneet Mehra, for whom it was his third individual wicket of the match, and the Rhinos concluded at 120 runs.