Lumbini All-Stars sails through to the final of the Nepal T20 League after a hard-fought win against Janakpur Royals in the first qualifier. All-Stars got better off the Royals by six runs in a nail-biting encounter.
⏪Recap – Lumbini All-Stars advanced into the final after a thrilling win against Janakpur Royals
Bulletin – https://t.co/z2cKWuhfnc
Scorecard – https://t.co/K21M39RQQ8#NepalT20League #LASvJR #Qualifier1 pic.twitter.com/xxOdIyLhkc— cricnepal.com 🇳🇵 🦏 (@cricnepal) January 8, 2023
Invited to bat first, Lumbini managed to post 143/8 in the allotted 20 overs after a dreadful start. They were four down for 32 in the seventh over, losing Harmeet Singh, Lahiru Milantha, Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee. Anil Sah (24) and Ishan Pandey (38) then shared 64 runs for the fifth wicket to uplift Lumbini’s situation. Ultimately, Shadley van Schalkwyk and Bipul Sharma’s cameo helped Lumbini post a fighting total. Shadley smashed eight-ball 17 while Bipul contributed 20 from 13 balls.
Ashan Priyanjan, Sompal Kami, and Jitendra Mukhiya picked up a couple of wickets for Janakpur.
In reply, Janakpur fell six runs short after they failed to score ten from the last over.
Mahato conceded three runs in the decisive over, after Shadley conceded 23 runs in the penultimate over. Royals were down to 45/5 in the ninth over, but Samiullah Shinwari smacked 45 runs to bring them on track. Pawan Sarraf also assisted 19-ball 30 runs.
Sagar Dhakal, Bipul Sharma, and Dipendra Singh Airee picked up two wickets each for Lumbini.
The Royals will now face the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier. Kathmandu Knights and Biratnagar Super Kings will be facing each other in the eliminator on Monday.
