Kathmandu Beat Chitwan by 10 Runs, Go Top of NPL

Quick Facts

Match

Chitwan Rhinos vs Kathmandu Gorkhas, Match 20, NPL Season 3

Date

Monday, 9 November 2026, 5:00 PM NST

Venue

TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur

Result

Kathmandu Gorkhas won by 10 runs

Kathmandu

180 for 8 in 20 overs

Chitwan

170 for 7 in 20 overs

Points

Kathmandu 8 points from 5 matches, top of the table; Chitwan 5 points, fourth

Kathmandu Gorkhas are top of the Nepal Premier League. On Monday evening, 9 November 2026, they beat Chitwan Rhinos by 10 runs in Match 20 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, defending 180 for 8 as Chitwan finished on 170 for 7. It was their fourth win in a row, and it took them one point clear at the top of the table with the playoffs now within touching distance. The match had everything a tight evening game should have: a collapse, a recovery, a half-century in vain, a debut wicket, and a finish that stayed alive until the final over. Chitwan needed 17 runs from the last six balls with Ravi Bopara still at the crease. By the time the final ball was bowled, Bopara was gone, the asking rate had beaten Chitwan, and Kathmandu had completed the most composed win of their season.

Rashid rebuilds after the early collapse

Chitwan captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and chose to field, and for the first four overs the decision looked inspired. Kathmandu lost both openers for just 13 runs inside the first four overs. David Warner, who had shared a 104-run opening stand with Sahil Patel in the previous match against Lumbini Lions, was bowled by Kamal Singh Airee for one off six balls. Patel followed for eight off 12, dismissed by Rijan Dhakal, and at 13 for 2 in the fourth over Kathmandu were in trouble.

Rashid Khan changed the shape of the innings. The Afghan all-rounder, who had already made a half-century against Karnali Yaks earlier in the tournament, scored 52 off 30 balls with two fours and four sixes. It was his second fifty of the season, and it came exactly when Kathmandu needed someone to hold the innings together.

Rashid first rebuilt with William Bosisto, adding 62 runs for the third wicket, and then added 53 more for the fourth wicket with Sahan Arachchige. Bosisto made 27 off 22 balls with a six, and Arachchige scored 33 off 20 with three fours and two sixes. Between them, the two partnerships took Kathmandu from 13 for 2 to a position of strength, and the innings never stalled again.

Rashid fell in the 16th over, caught by Kushal Malla off Raza straight after reaching his fifty, but the platform was set. Captain Karan KC then provided the late flourish, smashing 20 off just seven balls with three sixes. He hit Dan Mousley for three consecutive sixes in the first three balls of an over before being trapped leg-before off the fourth, a dismissal confirmed on review in the 18th over.

Mohammad Aadil Alam made nine off eight balls, Jahandad Khan managed six off 13, and Santosh Yadav finished unbeaten on eight off two balls with a six. Kathmandu closed on 180 for 8, a total that looked competitive rather than commanding on a ground where big chases have been completed before.

For Chitwan, Rijan Dhakal was the standout bowler, taking three wickets for just 14 runs in four overs. Raza claimed two for 19, Kamal Singh Airee took two for 25, and Mousley picked up one wicket. Dhakal's spell, in particular, kept Kathmandu from running away with the innings after the middle-order recovery.

Chitwan's brisk start fades in the middle overs

Chitwan's reply began exactly as a chase of 181 demands. Openers Arjun Saud and Kamil Mishara put on 48 runs inside the first five overs. Saud scored 23 off 21 balls with four fours before Santosh Yadav bowled him, and Mishara smashed 28 off just 11 balls with a four and three sixes before Aadil Alam took a fine running catch off Arachchige.

At 48 for 1 and then 52 for 2, Chitwan were ahead of the asking rate. But the middle overs belonged to Kathmandu's bowlers. Dan Mousley and Bopara added 55 runs for the third wicket, yet the partnership consumed 47 balls, and the required rate kept climbing while the total crawled.

Mousley scored 29 off 32 balls with three fours before falling to Arachchige, and the moment that swung the match came in the 15th over. Raza, the Chitwan captain, was bowled for two off three balls by Ganesh Gautam, a Talent Hunt selection making his debut in the league. A debutant bowling the opposition captain for two is the kind of moment that lifts a whole side, and Kathmandu's fielders fed off it.

Kushal Malla made 13 off 12 before falling to Jahandad Khan, and Bibek Yadav was run out for four. Chitwan were 157 for 6 after 18.5 overs, and the equation had become brutal: 24 runs needed from seven balls.

Bopara's fifty is not enough

Bopara kept Chitwan in the contest almost single-handedly. The former England all-rounder scored 55 off 35 balls with two fours and three sixes, his seventh half-century in the league, and he was still there when the final over began with Chitwan needing 17. But the rate had grown too steep, and the finish belonged to Kathmandu's captain.

Karan KC, who had earlier smashed three sixes with the bat, dismissed Bopara in the final over, caught by Bhim Sharki, for 55. The wicket ended Chitwan's last realistic hope. Kamal Singh Airee finished unbeaten on five off four balls and Rijan Dhakal on one off one, but Chitwan closed on 170 for 7, ten runs short.

Arachchige was the pick of Kathmandu's bowlers with two wickets for 37 runs in four overs. Karan KC, Jahandad Khan, Santosh Yadav and Gautam took one wicket each, while Rashid bowled two overs for 15 without a wicket. It was a shared bowling effort rather than a one-man show, and that is what defending 180 in a tight finish usually takes: no single bowler leaking the game away.

The fall of wickets told the story of the chase. Chitwan lost their first wicket at 48, their second at 52, and then went from 107 for 3 to 114 for 4 as Raza fell. Malla's wicket at 153 and Bibek Yadav's run out at 157 left too much for the final over, and Bopara's dismissal at 164 in the 20th over closed the door.

Four straight wins, top of the table

The result changes the shape of the table. Kathmandu have eight points from five matches and sit one point ahead of Lumbini Lions. They lost their opening match to Janakpur Bolts and have won four in a row since, and this win puts them within touching distance of a playoff place with two league matches still to play.

Chitwan stay fourth with five points from five matches. It was only their second defeat of the season, but it was a costly one: a win would have taken them level with Kathmandu on seven points and into the top two. Instead they remain in the chasing pack, and their net run rate will have taken a hit from a defeat in a match they led early.

The win also underlines how Kathmandu's season has turned. Their opening defeat felt like a false start for a side carrying big overseas names. Since then they have beaten Biratnagar Kings by nine wickets, Lumbini Lions by 36 runs, and now Chitwan by 10 runs, and they have done it in different ways: a dominant chase, a defence built on a big total, and now a tight finish held together by their bowlers.

Rashid's form is central to that run. Two half-centuries in five matches, both made when Kathmandu were under pressure, have given their middle order a reliability it lacked early on. Warner's failure in this match, one off six balls after his big partnership in the previous game, barely registered because Rashid, Bosisto and Arachchige absorbed the collapse and rebuilt.

For Chitwan, the questions are familiar ones. Their top order fired, Bopara delivered again, and Raza's bowling kept Kathmandu to a chaseable total. But the middle overs of the chase, 55 runs in 47 balls for the third wicket, allowed the asking rate to drift beyond reach, and when the final over arrived the margin was already too wide. In a tournament this tight, those are the overs that decide playoff places.

Attention now turns to Tuesday, 10 November, when Sudurpaschim Royals face Janakpur Bolts in Match 21. Kathmandu, meanwhile, can watch from the top of the table, four wins in a row behind them and a playoff place almost in sight. After a Monday evening that tested every part of their side, they have earned the view.

Kathmandu's rise has been built the hard way: an opening defeat, a rebuild around their middle order, and now a win defended by ten runs in the final over. If they keep winning the tight ones, the top of the table is theirs to keep.

FAQs

What was the result of Kathmandu Gorkhas vs Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Match 20?

Kathmandu Gorkhas beat Chitwan Rhinos by 10 runs on Monday, 9 November 2026 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Kathmandu scored 180 for 8 in 20 overs and Chitwan finished on 170 for 7.

Who were the top scorers in Kathmandu vs Chitwan, Match 20?

Rashid Khan top-scored for Kathmandu with 52 off 30 balls, his second half-century of the tournament. For Chitwan, Ravi Bopara made 55 off 35 balls, his seventh half-century in the NPL, but it was not enough to win the match.

How many points do Kathmandu Gorkhas have after beating Chitwan?

Kathmandu have eight points from five matches and sit top of the NPL table, one point ahead of Lumbini Lions. It was their fourth consecutive win after losing their opening match to Janakpur Bolts.

Who took the most wickets in Kathmandu vs Chitwan, Match 20?

Rijan Dhakal took three wickets for 14 runs in four overs for Chitwan, the best bowling figures of the match. For Kathmandu, Sahan Arachchige took two for 37, while Karan KC, Jahandad Khan, Santosh Yadav and debutant Ganesh Gautam took one wicket each.