Janakpur Bolts defeat Pokhara Avengers by nine runs in Nepal Premier League

Janakpur Bolts defeated Pokhara Avengers by nine runs in a Nepal Premier League fixture on Sunday. The match, staged at the TU International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur, saw Pokhara win the toss and elect to bowl first against their opponents. Janakpur compiled a total of 147 runs for the loss of seven wickets across their allotted 20 overs. Trit Raj Das led the innings by scoring 61 runs off 55 deliveries. Abhishek Tiwari provided late acceleration, adding 24 runs from 10 balls, while opener Moeen Ali struck 21 runs off 16 balls before being dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan. Pokhara's bowling effort was spearheaded by Shakib, who claimed three wickets in his three overs, while Chamika Karaunaratne took two wickets. Earlier in the competition, Janakpur had recorded one victory and one defeat from two matches, whereas Pokhara entered the fixture having suffered a loss against Sudurpaschim Royals in their opening match. Chasing a target of 148 runs, Pokhara Avengers were restricted to 138 runs for nine wickets. The chase suffered early setbacks with the cheap dismissal of both openers, as Dinesh Kharel was out for three runs from nine balls and Mahedi Hasan managed eight runs from four deliveries, leaving Pokhara short of the required total.