Sudurpashchim Royals Defeat Chitwan Rhinos by Five Wickets in NPL

Sudurpashchim Royals secured their second victory in the third edition of the Nepal Premier League after defeating Chitwan Rhinos by five wickets at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Monday. Chasing a target of 130 runs set by Chitwan, Sudurpashchim reached the required total in 16.4 overs while losing five wickets. Batting first after losing the toss, Chitwan Rhinos accumulated 129 runs for six wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Chitwan faced an early setback after losing two wickets for 27 runs before Ravi Bopara and Dawid Malan mounted a 35-run partnership. Malan contributed 16 runs off 17 balls, hitting one boundary, before being caught behind by wicketkeeper Binod Bhandari off Dipendra Singh Airee. Arjun Saud and captain Sikandar Raza added 15 runs each. During his innings, 41-year-old English batsman Bopara reached a personal milestone by completing 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. Prior to the match, he stood at 9,980 runs from 495 T20 matches. He reached the benchmark after scoring his 20th run in the contest, before being caught by Airee off the bowling of Scott Kuggeleijn while attempting a six. In the bowling department, Sudurpashchim pace bowler Kuggeleijn took two wickets. Hemant Dhami, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Anil Kharel captured one wicket apiece, while Mausam Dhakal also secured a dismissal. Following the match, Sudurpashchim hold two wins and two losses out of four matches played, whereas Chitwan have registered one win and two defeats from three games.