Janakpur Bolts secure impressive win over Biratnagar in NPL
Janakpur Bolts began their campaign in the inaugural season of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) with a commanding victory, powered by the aggressive batting of Lahiru Milantha. In the opening match played on Saturday at Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Janakpur defeated Biratnagar Kings by 8 wickets.
Set a target of 128 runs after Biratnagar’s innings, Janakpur chased down the required score in just 15.2 overs, losing only 2 wickets. The win was secured by a dominant, unbroken third-wicket partnership of 116 runs between Milantha and Harsh Thaker.
Sri Lanka-born Milantha, who represents the United States, remained unbeaten on 75 runs from 53 balls, striking 9 fours and 2 sixes. Thaker contributed 29 runs off 33 balls, hitting 2 fours. The winning boundary came from Thaker, who struck a four off the bowling of Nicholas Krutten.
Janakpur capitalised on Biratnagar’s erratic bowling, which included 22 extras. The opening over saw Chris Sole concede three wides, with the first delivery going for four runs to the leg side. Sole also dismissed Asif Sheikh for a duck in the first over. Captain Anil Sah was another early casualty, bowled by Pratish GC for just 5 runs.
Earlier, Biratnagar were bowled out for 127 runs in 19 overs after Janakpur won the toss and chose to field. Martin Guptill led Biratnagar’s innings with an impressive 55 runs off 43 balls, including 7 fours and 1 six. Guptill reached his half century with a six off Ben Mike in the 13th over, but was dismissed by Thaker in the next over, caught at long-on by captain Shah.
Biratnagar's innings had a shaky start. Lokesh Bam, who hit a boundary in the first over, was bowled by Lalit Rajbanshi for 5 in the second over. Akib Ilyas, the former Oman captain, scored just 15 runs off 18 balls before being dismissed lbw by Mohammad Mohsin. Apart from Guptill and Ilyas, no other Biratnagar batsmen managed to reach double figures.
Nicholas Krutten, Rajesh Pulami, and Pratish GC each fell for single-digit scores, while Basir Ahmed and Sandeep Lamichhane were dismissed for 7 runs each. Sole was out for 4, and Jitendra Mukhiya failed to open his account. Anil Kharel remained unbeaten on 7 runs.
Lalit Rajbanshi was the standout bowler for Janakpur, claiming 3 wickets for 28 runs from 4 overs. Thaker and Kishor Mahato took 2 wickets each, with Thaker conceding 22 runs and Mahato 18 from 3 overs. Mohsin and Mike each claimed 1 wicket in the win.
