Airee Fifty Powers Sudurpaschim to First NPL Win

Captain Dipendra Singh Airee led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Sudurpaschim Royals opened their account in Nepal Premier League Season 3, beating Pokhara Avengers by six wickets in Match 4 at TU Ground in Kirtipur on Wednesday.

Captain Airee leads the Sudurpaschim chase

Chasing 146, Sudurpaschim Royals reached 148 for 4 in 16.5 overs, winning with 19 balls to spare against Pokhara Avengers at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. The win was the Royals' first of the season after they lost their opener to Lumbini Lions by seven wickets on October 26, and it came in Pokhara's first match of the tournament.

Captain Dipendra Singh Airee finished unbeaten on 51 off 36 balls, striking four fours and two sixes. He reached his half-century with a six off Pokhara captain Kushal Bhurtel and then hit the winning runs, a finish that underlined how completely he controlled the closing stages. He was named player of the match.

The chase had not started smoothly. Opener Binod Bhandari fell for four, and the Royals lost further early wickets before the innings settled. Brandon McMullen struck 22 off 12 balls and Saif Zaib made 15 before being run out, leaving the middle order with work to do at a ground where a target near 150 is rarely a formality under lights.

The match-winning stand with Ishan Pandey

The turning point was the 74-run fourth-wicket stand between Airee and Ishan Pandey. Pandey scored 37 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes, and his innings gave the chase its shape: he rotated the strike, punished the loose ball, and allowed Airee to play himself in before accelerating.

Once the pair were set, the required rate stopped climbing and the pressure moved back onto Pokhara's bowlers. Pandey's dismissal did not reopen the game, because Sherfane Rutherford joined Airee and struck a six off his second delivery. Rutherford finished unbeaten on eight off four balls, and the Royals closed out a comfortable win rather than a scramble.

That calm finish mattered for a side carrying the weight of two lost finals. The Royals reached the final in both previous editions of the NPL but have yet to win the title, so a first win of the new season — secured by their captain, in control, with balls to spare — was exactly the kind of result that settles a dressing room after an opening defeat.

Pokhara innings and Anil Kharel three wickets

Earlier, Sudurpaschim won the toss and chose to bowl first, and their bowlers kept Pokhara to 145 for 7 in 20 overs. Anil Kharel was the pick of the attack, taking three wickets for 23 runs in three overs, while Hemant Dhami, Scott Kuggeleijn and Airee claimed one wicket each.

Pokhara's innings never quite found top gear. Bangladesh opener Mahedi Hasan top-scored among the early batters with 32 off 21 balls, captain Kushal Bhurtel made 21 off 17, and former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan contributed 14 off 16. Sadeera Samarawickrama scored eight, Dhananjaya Lakshan 11 and Kiran Thagunna one, and at one stage a total well below 140 looked likely.

A late unbeaten 40 off 25 balls from Bibek Magar, with Bipin Khatri unbeaten on five, lifted Pokhara to 145 and gave their bowlers something to defend. Magar struck four fours and a six, and his late hitting — including a strong final over — turned a below-par total into a competitive one, even if it ultimately proved about 20 runs short on a ground where the Royals' batters timed the chase well.

First win and the road ahead for the Royals

For Pokhara, the defeat carries a familiar warning. They are the only team not to have reached the playoffs in either of the first two NPL editions, and losing their opening match of Season 3 — after being put in to bat and then watching a set chase slip away — leaves them needing a quick response. Their bowling could not defend 145 once Airee and Pandey were set, and their batting lacked a second substantial innings alongside Magar's late effort.

For Sudurpaschim, the win reopens the season. The Royals had already strengthened during the week, with Sri Lanka all-rounder Tharindu Rathnayake joining the squad, and a captain's innings in a first win gives that strengthened group momentum. The opener against Lumbini Lions had exposed the Royals' batting; this chase showed a steadier version of the same side.

The tournament now moves on quickly. Two matches are scheduled at the same ground on Thursday, October 29: Janakpur Bolts face Kathmandu Gurkhas at 12:30 pm, followed by Biratnagar Kings against Karnali Yaks at 5 pm. Supporters can follow the Royals' progress on the NPL Season 3 schedule and the points table, where this first win lifts Sudurpaschim off the mark and into the early race for the top four.