NPL 2026 Day Two: Biratnagar vs Chitwan, Karnali vs Janakpur

The second day of NPL Season 3 is a double-header at Kirtipur. Biratnagar Kings and Chitwan Rhinos open the afternoon, and Karnali Yaks and Janakpur Bolts close the evening, a day after Lumbini Lions opened the season against Sudurpaschim Royals.

Day Two Double-Header at Kirtipur

NPL Season 3 moves into its first double-header on Tuesday 27 October, with two matches at the same ground on the same day. The afternoon game starts at 12:30 PM NST and the evening game at 5:00 PM NST, and both are played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, where all 32 matches of the season are staged.

The day follows a one-sided opener. Defending champions Lumbini Lions bowled Sudurpaschim Royals out for 87 in 17.2 overs and chased the target in just 9.5 overs to win by seven wickets. D'Arcy Short scored 40 off 18 balls, Kishore Mahato took four wickets for 28 runs and Sher Malla took three for 11, setting an early standard that the four teams playing on day two must now match.

Two points go to the winner of each match, and with only the top four of eight teams reaching the playoffs from seven league games each, an opening win carries real weight. A team that starts with a defeat must chase the table from the second round onwards, while a team that starts with a win can build its campaign around that early cushion.

Biratnagar Kings vs Chitwan Rhinos: First Afternoon Fixture

Biratnagar Kings meet Chitwan Rhinos in the first afternoon fixture of the season, at 12:30 PM NST. Biratnagar finished third last season and are still chasing a first NPL title, while Chitwan finished seventh with two wins from seven matches and four points, and missed the playoffs.

Biratnagar are led by captain Sandeep Lamichhane, with Dhammika Prasad as coach, and they kept six players from last season, including Lokesh Bam, Basir Ahamad, Narayan Joshi, Pratish GC and Subash Bhandari. Andre Russell headlines their overseas contingent, giving the Kings proven power in the middle order and a bowler who can close out an innings.

Chitwan are led by captain Kushal Malla, with Sohail Tanvir as coach, and they kept seven players, including Dev Khanal, Arjun Saud, Kamal Singh Airee, Ranjeet Kumar, Deepak Bohara and Rijan Dhakal. Their overseas signings are Usama Mir, Kaleem Sana, Sikandar Raza and Ravi Bopara, a group that covers new-ball bowling, spin and middle-order batting in one package.

The head-to-head stands at 1-1. Biratnagar won the first meeting, by 51 runs in Season 1 on 13 December 2024, and Chitwan won the most recent meeting, by 48 runs in Season 2 on 26 November 2025. The daytime start changes the game: there are no floodlights and no evening dew, so the side that wins the early exchanges, with bat or ball, can control a match that is played entirely in daylight.

Karnali Yaks vs Janakpur Bolts: Evening Fixture Under Lights

Karnali Yaks face Janakpur Bolts at 5:00 PM NST in the second game of the double-header. Janakpur are the Season 1 champions, but they finished last in Season 2 with a single win and have rebuilt their squad since, while Karnali open their campaign with a settled core built around their retained players.

Karnali are led by captain Sompal Kami, with Gyanendra Malla as coach. Scotland spinner Mark Watt is their standout overseas name: he scored 246 runs in seven matches last season, including 114 not out off 44 balls against Lumbini Lions, the biggest individual innings at this ground. Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Akbar Ali, who captained Bangladesh to the 2020 Under-19 World Cup title, is their first-choice keeper and lower-order finisher.

Janakpur are led by captain Harmeet Singh, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul as coach. Their overseas signings include Moeen Ali, Jimmy Neesham and Iftikhar Ahmed, and leg-spinner Lalit Rajbanshi is the side's marquee player after Janakpur handed him that honour. The target is a second title, and the first step is proving that the rebuild works against a side that knows this ground well.

Janakpur lead the head-to-head 2-1, but Karnali won the last meeting, by three runs in Season 2, and the last two meetings between these sides have both been close. One absence is confirmed for Karnali: Sahibzada Farhan has returned to Pakistan for national duty and misses the Yaks' first two matches, so he plays no part in the evening game. A 5:00 PM start means the match begins in daylight and finishes under floodlights, with sunset in Kirtipur at about 5:24 PM, so the second half is a night game and the evening dew question returns after the dry afternoon match.

Key Players and Battles to Watch

The afternoon game turns first on Biratnagar's attack against Chitwan's top order. An early strike in a daytime game puts the batting side behind before it can settle, and Lamichhane's spin against Malla's batting is the duel that sets the tone. Then comes Russell's power against Chitwan's overseas bowling, with Mir and Sana both listed as bowlers, and the middle overs, where Raza and Bopara meet Biratnagar's spin options.

The evening game turns on Watt's slow left-arm spin against Janakpur's overseas middle order. Moeen Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Neesham all score quickly against spin, and Watt has the ground's biggest innings behind him as a batter too. Sompal Kami's new-ball bowling against Janakpur's top order is the other early duel, and Rajbanshi's leg-spin against Karnali's middle order decides the middle overs.

Across both games, the captains carry the heaviest load. Lamichhane and Malla are the retained cores of their sides, Kami leads a settled Karnali unit, and Harmeet Singh leads a rebuilt Janakpur side that needs its captain to hold the new group together. The early points table after day two will show which of the four has taken the first step towards the playoffs, and the full schedule shows how quickly the next fixtures arrive.

Broadcast and Match Timings

Both matches are at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. The afternoon match, Biratnagar Kings against Chitwan Rhinos, starts at 12:30 PM NST, and the evening match, Karnali Yaks against Janakpur Bolts, starts at 5:00 PM NST. Fans following from abroad can check the live scores page for ball-by-ball updates once play begins.

NetTV carries the matches worldwide, Himalaya Sports TV shows them in Nepal, and FanCode streams them in India, with Star Sports Select 2 and Select 2 HD on television in India and South Asia. The opener showed how quickly a match at Kirtipur can move: Lumbini's chase lasted just 9.5 overs, so fans joining late on day two may find a game already decided, and the full report on that opener is covered in Lumbini Lions Beat Sudurpaschim by 7 Wickets in NPL Opener.