Chitwan Beat Pokhara by 30 Runs in NPL Match 17

Chitwan Rhinos beat Pokhara Avengers by 30 runs in Match 17 of NPL Season 3 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Friday, 6 November 2026, and the margin tells only half the story. Chitwan defended 151 with a bowling performance that never let Pokhara settle, and the win lifted the Rhinos into third place on the points table while Pokhara stayed rooted to the bottom without a win in four matches.

The Rhinos build 151

Pokhara won the toss and chose to field first. The decision looked reasonable on a surface that had offered the bowlers something all week, but Chitwan's openers made the first hour theirs. Arjun Saud and Dawid Malan put on 60 for the first wicket, rotating the strike and picking off the loose ball, before both fell in the space of five deliveries with the total still on 60.

Saud made 31 from 27 balls and Malan 28 from 28, and their stand gave Chitwan a platform. What followed was a middle-order wobble that could have cost the Rhinos the match. Dan Mousley managed only 2, and Kushal Malla, back in the side after injury, made 11 from 13 balls before falling to Kushal Bhurtel. At 86 for 4 in the 15th over, Chitwan were in danger of wasting a good start.

Ravi Bopara and captain Sikandar Raza made sure they did not. The pair added 60 for the fifth wicket, and the partnership changed the shape of the innings. Bopara scored 35 from 28 balls, holding one end and finding the boundary three times, while Raza attacked from the other. The captain smashed 37 from just 16 balls, with two fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 231.25.

Raza's hitting took Chitwan past 140 in the closing overs. Bopara fell for 35 with the total on 146 and Raza followed one run later, but the damage was done. Bibek Yadav and Kamal Airee saw out the final deliveries, and Chitwan finished on 151 for 6 from their 20 overs.

Pokhara's bowlers shared the wickets. Chamika Karunaratne, leading the side for the first time, took 2 for 34. Bipin Khatri was the most economical of the wicket-takers with 2 for 22, and Bhurtel took 2 for 26. Mahedi Hasan went wicketless for 32 from his four overs, and the 15 extras Pokhara conceded, including 11 wides, kept Chitwan's total ticking over.

Pokhara's chase never finds its rhythm

Rijan Dhakal was the difference. The Chitwan seamer took 4 for 24 in four overs, including two wickets with the last two balls of the match, and was named Player of the Match. Kamal Singh Airee backed him with 3 for 7 in two overs at the top of the innings. Between them, the two seamers took seven of the ten wickets to fall.

Chasing 152, Pokhara lost their captain in the first over. Bhurtel, who had handed the leadership to Karunaratne for this match, was caught by Mousley off Airee for 4, and the tone of the chase was set. Yuvraaj Samra struck 19 from 14 balls, but he was bowled by Mousley, and Sadeera Samarawickrama fell for 4. Pokhara were 62 for 3 after eight overs and already behind the rate.

Arjun Kumal held one end together. The opener carried his bat through most of the innings, scoring 45 from 44 balls with three fours and a six, but he found almost no support. Mahedi Hasan made 7, Kiran Thagunna 13, and Karunaratne himself only 2. Every time a partnership threatened to form, Chitwan found a wicket.

Malla's return mattered with the ball as well as the bat. The all-rounder bowled four overs for 12 runs and took the wicket of Mahedi, and he held the catch that removed Thagunna off Dhakal. Mousom Dhakal chipped in with 1 for 11, and Mousley finished with 1 for 10. Chitwan's attack gave Pokhara nothing free.

The collapse came quickly once Kumal fell. Pokhara were 103 for 5 when Thagunna was dismissed in the 15th over, and they lost their last six wickets for 18 runs. Karunaratne went for 2, Kumal for 45, and then Dhakal closed the match in style, removing Arjun Gharti and Sagar Dhakal with the final two deliveries. Pokhara were bowled out for 121 in 19 overs, 30 runs short.

Airee's figures stood out even beside Dhakal's. The seamer took 3 for 7 in two overs, striking in the first over and returning to remove Kumal and Sudip Aryal in the closing stages. It was the kind of new-ball burst that decides low-scoring matches, and it left Pokhara chasing the game from the first ball.

What the result means for the table

The win takes Chitwan to five points from four matches, with two wins, one defeat and one no-result, and moves them into third place behind Lumbini Lions and Sudurpaschim Royals. Their net run rate sits at +0.207, and with the league reaching its halfway stage, the Rhinos are firmly in the playoff race.

Pokhara's position is the opposite. Four matches, four defeats, no points, and a net run rate of -1.679 leave them last, and their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. They were without Shakib Al Hasan again, and the batting has now failed to chase in all four outings. The bowling has kept them in matches, with Bipin Khatri and Karunaratne both taking two wickets here, but the batting has not given the bowlers a total to defend or a chase to complete.

The captaincy change did not bring a change of fortune either. Karunaratne took over the leadership from Bhurtel for this match, and while he led from the front with the ball, the result was the same. Bhurtel's own lean run continued with the bat, and Pokhara will need their senior players to find form quickly if the season is to be rescued.

Raza, collecting the award on Dhakal's behalf in the post-match presentation, said the seamer deserved the honour because the bowlers had to dig deep to win the match. It was a fair summary. Chitwan's total was competitive rather than commanding, and it was the discipline of the bowling attack, conceding only 15 extras in the chase after giving away just three while batting, that turned a middling score into a comfortable win.

For Chitwan, the win also settles a question that had followed them since the opening week. Their overseas signings have delivered, with Bopara and Raza combining for the match-winning partnership here and Malan anchoring the start, and the Nepali core around them is contributing. Saud's 31 at the top, Malla's return with bat, ball and in the field, and Dhakal's match-winning spell give the Rhinos a balance that looks built for the second half of the league.

The league moves on quickly. Kathmandu Gorkhas meet Lumbini Lions in Match 18 at Kirtipur on Saturday, 7 November, starting at 4:30 PM NST. Pokhara return on Monday, 9 November, against Karnali Yaks at 12:30 PM NST, a match they now need to win to keep their season alive. Chitwan face Kathmandu later the same day at 4:30 PM NST, with a chance to push further up the table.