Lumbini Lions have entered the final of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2025 after defeating Biratnagar Kings by 40 runs in the second qualifier.
With Thursday’s victory, Lumbini will now face last year’s runners-up, Sudurpaschim Royals, in the title clash.
Earlier, in the first qualifier, Sudurpaschim had booked their second consecutive final appearance with a 77-run win over Biratnagar.
In Thursday’s match held at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Biratnagar were restricted to 94 runs in 17.5 overs while chasing a modest target of 135 runs set by Lumbini. All five Lumbini bowlers took wickets, with Tilak Bhandari leading the attack by taking 3 wickets. Tilak conceded only 15 runs in his 4 overs with an impressive economy rate of 3.75.
Abhisesh Gautam, JJ Smit, and Ruben Trumpelmann claimed 2 wickets each, while Sher Malla picked up 1 wicket.
For Biratnagar, Sam Hazlett scored the highest 34 runs, hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes off 28 balls. Naren Bhatt added 21 runs while Merchant de Lange contributed 17. Other batters failed to reach double figures.
Openers Martin Guptill and Faf du Plessis managed only 2 and 3 runs respectively. Lokesh Bam was dismissed for a golden duck, Shankar Rana scored 7, while Basir Ahmed and captain/ marquee player Sandeep Lamichhane both fell for 3 runs. Prasit KC made 2.
Batting first after losing the toss, Lumbini posted 134 runs for 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Opener D’Arcy Short top-scored with 45 runs off 41 balls, hitting 3 fours and 1 six. Captain Rohit Kumar Paudel scored 34 runs off 30 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. The pair rescued the innings from 8–1, adding a 69-run partnership. However, after reaching 77–2 in 11.2 overs, Lumbini lost momentum and slumped to 104–6 by the 16th over.
Niroshan Dickwella contributed 29 runs off 22 balls with 4 boundaries, while Trumpelmann made 11. No other batter reached double digits. Sundeep Jora and JJ Smit were dismissed for ducks, and Dilip Nath and Dinesh Adhikari fell for 1 run each.
For Biratnagar, spinner Subas Bhandari took 3 wickets, giving away only 14 runs in 4 overs with an economy of 3.50. Pratis GC also claimed 3 wickets, conceding 27 runs in his 4 overs. Captain Sandeep Lamichhane bagged 2 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs.
Biratnagar had secured a playoff spot by finishing second in the league stage.
The NPL 2025 final between Sudurpaschim Royals and Lumbini Lions will be played on Mangsir 27.
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