As the eight franchises compete for the title of the third season of the Nepal Premier League, Lumbini Lions have the extra challenge as defenders.

The Lions had finished at the bottom in the first season but they made a roaring comeback in the second season to lift the trophy. Following that miraculous victory, the Lions’ difficult charge is now being led by Rohit Kumar Paudel.

Lumbini do not have a star-studded squad. Their overseas squad is comprised of Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, Bangladeshi all-rounder Shamim Hossain, Australian opener D’Arcy Short, the American all-rounder Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk and Namibian pacer Ruben Trumpelmann.

Lumbini’s squad does not feel intimidating enough compared to the Janakpur Bolts having Moeen Ali and Jimmy Neesham, the Kathmandu Gorkhas featuring David Warner, the Karnali Yaks with David Miller, the Pokhara Avengers with Shakib Al Hasan, the Chitwan Rhinos with Ravi Bopara and Sikandar Raza, the Sudurpaschim Royals with Sherfane Rutherford, and the Biratnagar Kings with Andre Russell.

But Lumbini have someone with the ability to use the ‘not-so-star’ players for the title defence. And he is Rohit Kumar Paudel, the former national team skipper who took Nepal to consecutive T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026. Paudel was crucial in the Lions’ title win in the last season.

Lions have already overcome their biggest challenge of the third season: Sudurpaschim Royals. The two teams, the finalists of the second season, faced off in the opening match of the third season on Monday.

The Royals have been the favourites to win the title in all three seasons. And the Lions were able to hand them a comprehensive defeat at the start of the third season. That match was, in many ways, a replay of last season’s final, and the outcome remained identical: a low-scoring thriller followed by Lumbini’s trademark clinical execution.

For Lumbini, this victory marked their seventh consecutive win in the tournament. Alongside their championship-winning run last season, Lumbini’s winning streak has morphed into an unstoppable juggernaut. That run includes three wins in the league stage of the previous season, followed by dominant victories in the eliminator, Qualifier 2, and the final.

Counting the season opener, Lumbini’s consecutive winning streak in the league stage alone now stands at four matches. However, the record for the longest consecutive winning streak in the league stage still belongs to Sudurpaschim, a feat that will be extremely difficult to surpass. Spanning the first and second seasons, Sudurpaschim put together a remarkable nine-match winning streak in the league stage. Without a doubt, Sudurpaschim boast the most formidable league-stage record of any team in the competition.

Having suffered just one defeat each during the league stages of the first two seasons, Sudurpaschim will now face Biratnagar, presenting a tough test, in the second match on Saturday.

Biratnagar failed to win their first two matches despite getting close in both the instances. And it will be a good opportunity for the Kings to announce their title challenge by defeating the Royals. The Kings were the ones to hand the Royals their single loss in seven league-stage fixtures of the second season.  

Lumbini, meanwhile, face Chitwan in the first match on Saturday. For Chitwan, Lumbini are an opponent they have never defeated. The Rhinos had lost against Lumbini by 33 runs in the first season and by six wickets in the second season.

Nonetheless, it will be a big blow for the teams and their fans if the rain continues throughout Saturday, causing the franchises to share points.

Meanwhile, Sunday afternoon will feature a solitary clash between Janakpur Bolts and Pokhara Avengers. Janakpur advance to this match with one win and one loss, while Pokhara fell to Sudurpaschim in their opener. In their two previous head-to-head meetings, both teams shared a win. Notably, Pokhara hold the unwanted distinction of being the only side in the tournament that never qualified for the playoffs. Their league-stage record reflects their struggles, having lost 10 out of their 15 matches so far.

Monday's action begins with Kathmandu Gorkhas facing Chitwan Rhinos. Kathmandu put on a dismal display in their opening match, looking entirely out of sorts. In stark contrast, Chitwan entered this fixture riding high on confidence after winning both of their opening matches. Counting a league win from last season, Chitwan are currently on a three-match winning streak.

Surprisingly, despite their good form, Chitwan have never beaten Kathmandu in their two previous league-stage encounters. That historical hurdle will certainly serve as extra motivation for Chitwan as they look to rewrite the script.

Before the rest day on Wednesday, the points table will start to get more competitive, allowing the fans to speculate the chances of their teams entering the playoffs as the top four.