Kathmandu. As part of the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), two matches are being played today on Tuesday. Biratnagar Kings and Chitwan Rhinos will face off in the first match at the Trivi International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, while Janakpur Bolts and Karnali Yaks will face each other in the second match.
The first match will start at 12:30 noon. The second match will be played at 5 pm.
Competition between Biratnagar and Chitwan
In today’s first match, Biratnagar Kings and Chitwan Rhinos will face each other, both teams will be aiming to win. Biratnagar has Nepalese players like Sandeep Lamichhane, Lokesh Bam, Basir Ahmed and Pratish Jisi.
The presence of West Indies’ explosive all-rounder Andre Russell and Sri Lanka’s former captain Angelo Mathews has strengthened the team. Similarly, the arrival of Charith Aslanka and the all-round performance of Shubham Ranjane in the team under the training of Dhammika Prasad can be important.
On the other hand, Chitwan Rhinos have young players like Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Kamal Singh Airi and Rijan Dhakal. In the middle order, Ravi Bopara and Sikandar Raja can give a strong base to the team. The presence of Usama Mir and Kalim Sana in the team of former Pakistani bowler Sohail Tanveer is expected to strengthen the bowling.
In the matches between these two teams in the previous two editions, both have won one each. In the first edition, Biratnagar defeated Chitwan by 51 runs. In that match, Biratnagar scored 181 runs while in reply Chitwan managed to score only 130 runs.
In the second edition, Chitwan defeated Biratnagar by 48 runs. Chasing a target of 175 runs, Biratnagar was reduced to 116 runs. In the first edition of the competition, Chitwan reached the last four, while in the second edition, Biratnagar made it to the playoffs. This time the goal of both teams will be to catch the rhythm from the beginning of the game.
Second meeting between Janakpur and Karnali
In today’s second match, the champions of the first edition Janakpur Bolts will face Karnali Yaks. Janakpur, who won the title in the first edition, was at the bottom of the table in the second edition. So it is interesting to see how the team will come back in the third edition.
On the other hand, Karnali, who reached the top four on the basis of run rate behind Kathmandu Gorkhaz in the first edition, will also be aiming to win. Karnali, which did not get the expected benefit from the regular presence of Pakistani players in the previous edition, wants to improve its performance this time.
There have been three matches between Janakpur and Karnali in NPL. Among them, Janakpur has won two matches while Karnali has succeeded in one match.
In the league stage of the first edition, Janakpur defeated Karnali by 8 wickets. The target of 142 runs given by Karnali was completed by Janakpur by losing two wickets in 15 overs. Janakpur also defeated Karnali by two wickets in the qualifier of the same edition.
In the second edition, Karnali avenged the previous defeat against Janakpur and won by a narrow margin of three runs. This time, Janakpur will be trying to return to its old rhythm, while Karnali wants to continue the victory of the previous edition and reduce the gap in mutual competition.