Lumbini vs Chitwan Match 7 Abandoned, Points Shared

Match 7 of NPL Season 3 between Lumbini Lions and Chitwan Rhinos has been abandoned without a toss after heavy rain left the TU Ground in Kirtipur waterlogged, with both teams sharing one point each.

Abandonment Without a Toss at Kirtipur

The first match of Saturday's double-header never got started. Lumbini Lions and Chitwan Rhinos were due to meet at 12:30 PM at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur, but persistent rain had already left the outfield waterlogged, and officials called the game off without even holding the toss. The abandonment was confirmed on Saturday, with waterlogging across the outfield preventing even the toss from taking place and forcing officials to call off the game without a single ball bowled.

The rain was no passing shower. It began late on Thursday night, continued through Friday and was still falling on Saturday morning, leaving Kathmandu under more than 24 hours of continuous rainfall by the time Match 7 was due to start.

The Cricket Association of Nepal has said that even a five-over-a-side match will be organised if the rain stops, and officials confirmed that every attempt will be made to conduct a shortened game, with a minimum of five overs per side required for a result. That assurance matters most for the evening match; for Match 7, standing water and a hard 5 PM deadline left officials with no room to wait.

Points Table After the Shared Point

An abandoned match in the NPL is not replayed and carries no reserve day, so the two teams split the points. Each side takes one point, and because no ball was bowled, there is no movement on net run rate either. Lumbini, the defending champions, move to second place with three points after winning their opener against Sudurpaschim Royals by seven wickets, chasing 88 in 9.5 overs. Chitwan climb to third with an equal tally, having beaten Biratnagar Kings by eight runs in their first game after posting 157 for three and holding Biratnagar to 149.

Karnali Yaks stay top of the points table with four points from two wins, including their four-wicket win over Biratnagar in Match 6, when they chased 187 with one ball to spare. Pokhara Avengers, who have played only one match so far, sit at the bottom. The shared point keeps both Lumbini and Chitwan unbeaten, but within reach of the chasing pack rather than letting either side open up a gap at the top.

That is the quiet cost of a washout in a short league season. A win would have taken either side to four points and level with Karnali; instead, both bank a single point and must win their remaining games to stay in control of their qualification race.

Forecast Warnings That Came True

The abandonment surprised almost nobody who had followed the forecasts. A day before the match, meteorologist Ujjwal Upadhyaya had warned that the weekend's cricket was in serious doubt. He said drizzle was likely to continue until Saturday evening, adding: “The chances of tomorrow's matches taking place are low.” That assessment proved exact: Thursday's second match, between Biratnagar Kings and Karnali Yaks, was completed despite light rain, but Saturday's drizzle never cleared in time.

Meteorologist Binod Pokhrel said on Saturday morning that rain was likely in Kathmandu and several other parts of the country between 1 PM and 2 PM, with conditions expected to improve only gradually afterwards. Weather reporting on Saturday also noted that preparing the ground could take another two to three hours, that the cut-off for even a five-over-per-side result was around 3:40 to 3:55 PM, and that if rainfall continued until around 1 PM or later, the chances of the match going ahead would become extremely slim.

Those two constraints, the forecast and the clock, decided Match 7 before a ball could be bowled. Ground staff can dry a pitch under covers, but they cannot make a waterlogged outfield safe, and the earlier washout warning for Match 7 had already flagged exactly this sequence.

Evening Match 8 and the Wider Cost of a Washout

Attention now turns to the second match of the day, with Sudurpaschim Royals scheduled to face Biratnagar Kings at 5 PM on the same ground. Sudurpaschim arrive with one win and one defeat from their two games, while Biratnagar are still searching for their first victory after losing both of their opening matches. The full schedule still lists the evening fixture as planned, but whether it goes ahead will depend on when the rain stops and how the ground responds.

For the two evening teams, the stakes of another washout are very different. Sudurpaschim, last season's runners-up, can absorb a shared point far more easily than Biratnagar, who need a win to restart a campaign that has already slipped twice. A second abandonment would leave Biratnagar winless from three attempts, while Sudurpaschim would bank another point without playing. That is why CAN's willingness to stage even a five-over contest matters: a short game at least gives both sides something to play for.

There is also a practical cost beyond the table. Ticket holders for an abandoned match face a wasted trip to Kirtipur, and reports have said ticketing partner eSewa will issue refunds if a match is called off before the toss, so supporters holding tickets should check the official refund procedure rather than assuming the money is lost. Fans following from home should watch the live scores page for the evening match. For Lumbini and Chitwan, though, the damage is done: a fixture both sides had targeted as a statement game has become a footnote, and Saturday's washout is a reminder that in Kathmandu in late October, the weather is an opponent no team can plan around.