Kathmandu Beat Karnali by 4 Wickets in NPL Match 10

Kathmandu Gorkhas opened their Season 3 account with a four-wicket win over Karnali Yaks in NPL Match 10 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Monday, chasing down 181 with two balls to spare.

Rashid Khan fifty anchors the 181 chase

Kathmandu Gorkhas made heavy work of a steep chase before their captain and their most experienced batter took charge against Karnali Yaks. Set 181 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kathmandu slipped to 89 for 4 in the 13th over, and the game looked to be drifting towards the side defending the total. Then Rashid Khan and Karan KC changed it with a burst of clean hitting that took the required rate back under control.

Rashid reached his fifty off just 32 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes, and finished with 50 off 33 before Gulsan Jha dismissed him. Karan, who had already taken two wickets with the ball, smashed 44 off 20 balls at the other end. Their stand turned a chase that had stalled in the middle overs into a sprint, and although both fell before the finish, Jahandad Khan kept his nerve with an unbeaten 22 off 10 balls to see Kathmandu home at 181 for 6 in 19.4 overs, with two balls to spare.

Karnali 180 built on Ariful Islam powerplay charge

Karnali had earlier posted a total that looked like a winning one. Asked to bat first after Karan won the toss and elected to field, the Yaks raced to 65 in the mandatory powerplay, with opener Ariful Islam leading the charge. Ariful smashed 44 off 22 balls, including five fours and three sixes, before falling with the score on 66 in the seventh over.

Kathmandu dragged the game back as Jishan Alam fell for 7, Deepak Dumre for 8 and Mark Watt for 17, leaving Karnali at 78 for 4 after 9.1 overs. The innings was rebuilt by Pawan Sarraf and Hussain Talat, who added 65 for the fifth wicket, bringing up their fifty stand in 35 balls. Talat made 40 off 30 before being dismissed hit wicket, while Sarraf finished unbeaten on 30 off 24 balls and Gulsan Jha provided a late lift with 20 off 12 balls, including two sixes. For Kathmandu, Karan took 2 for 35, and Shahab Alam, Jahandad Khan, Dev Shah and Santosh Yadav claimed one wicket each.

David Warner debut ends early against Sompal Kami

The match also marked the NPL debut of David Warner, who had arrived in Nepal earlier in the day to join the Kathmandu squad. The former Australia opener started brightly, scoring 16 off 10 balls, but his first outing in the league ended quickly when Karnali captain Sompal Kami bowled him with an excellent delivery off the last ball of the over.

Warner's dismissal was the first of a wobble at the top of the order. Smit Patel fell for 9, Mohammad Aadil Alam made 20 off 27 balls and Bhim Sharki managed only 5, and at 89 for 4 Kathmandu were behind the rate against a Karnali attack that had already defended totals twice this season. That Warner's debut ended in a win rather than a defeat will matter to Kathmandu, but the early collapse showed again that their batting cannot rely on one famous name at the top.

What the first win changes for Kathmandu Gorkhas

This was Kathmandu's first win of Season 3, and it arrives at exactly the right moment. Their campaign had started with a heavy defeat, bowled out for 115 by Janakpur Bolts in Match 5, and a second straight loss would have left the star-studded side chasing the season from the bottom. Instead, they now have two points on the board, and the manner of the win tells its own story: the captain led with bat and ball, the senior overseas batter delivered under pressure, and the finishers held their nerve in a chase of 181.

For Karnali, the defeat ends an unbeaten start after wins over Janakpur Bolts and Biratnagar Kings, but they remain on four points and very much in the early-season race. The wider lesson of Match 10 is that no total at Kirtipur is safe this season: Karnali's 180, built on a 65-run powerplay, was still not enough once Rashid and Karan found their range. With most of the league stage still to play, Kathmandu's next task is to turn one chase into a run, starting from the fixtures on the full schedule and the standings on the points table.