Kathmandu, December 25
Lumbini All Stars recorded their second straight victory, while Janakpur Royals made winning start in the NepalT20 Cricket League here at the TU Stadium today.
The All Stars defeated Biratnagar Super Kings by three runs. Batting first, the All Stars posted 157-6 in their allotted 20 overs before restricting the Super Kings to 154-6. The All Stars had defeated Far West United by 67 runs in the opening day match yesterday.
Unmukt Chand (two) failed to live up to his expectations for the second match in a row before Lahiru Milantha and Kushal Bhurtel added 55 runs for the second wicket. After Bhurtel was dismissed for 17- ball 26 that included two fours and a six, Milantha and skipper Dipendra Singh Airee (16) shared a 43-run partnership for the third wicket.
Player-of-the-match Milantha remained unbeaten on 80 off just 63 balls with the help of five boundaries and four sixes. Nandan Yadav, Hussain Talat, Shahab Alam, Sikandar Raza and Andre Mc- Carthy took one wicket each for the Super Kings.
In reply, the Super Kings came close to chasing a target but they could not muster six runs in the last two balls. Hussain Talat top scored with 24- ball 39 hitting three fours and two sixes, while Rohit Paudel was the next best at 25. Prithu Baskota (18), Sikandar Raza (17), Bibek Yadav (12 not out), Andre McCarthy (11 not out) and Arjun Saud (10) scored in double figures but no one could convert them into big knocks.
Kishore Mahato took two wickets for All Stars, while Brown Gulsan Jha, Airee and Sagar Dhakal bagged one each.
In another match, the Royals beat Pokhara Avengers by five wickets. The Avengers, who lost to Kathmandu Knights yesterday, were bowled out for 138 in 19.4 overs before the Royals reached 139-5 with 14 balls to spare.
Aasif Sheikh top scored for Avengers with 50 off 39 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes, while Siddhant Lohani, who hit Trevon Griffith for four sixes in the 10th over, scored 16-ball 29.
Pratis GC also struck four sixes - three of them coming in the penultimate over bowled by Mohammad Aadil Alam - scored 28 off 18 balls.
Kesrick Williams took 3-19 for the Royals, while Pawan Sarraf, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Lalit Rajbanshi grabbed two wickets each.
In reply, Sundeep Jora scored an unbeaten 40 off just 30 balls that included two fours and three sixes to lead the team to victory, while Sagar Pun struck five boundaries and a six in his 35-ball 38.
Chadwick Walton contributed 20-ball 19. Zahir Khan took 3-37 for the Avengers, while Sharad Vesawkar and Mousom Dhakal bagged one wicket each.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
