NPL Points Table After Match 12: Biratnagar Top

Biratnagar Kings are top of the Nepal Premier League table after Match 12, rising from sixth with a two-run win over Janakpur Bolts, while four teams now sit level on four points at the summit.

Biratnagar Top After Two-Run Win Over Janakpur

The points table after Match 12 has a new leader, and it is Biratnagar Kings. The Kings beat Janakpur Bolts by two runs in Tuesday's first match at Kirtipur, defending 174 for 3 as Janakpur finished on 172 for 7. The two points lift Biratnagar from sixth to first, level on four points with three other sides but ahead of them on net run rate.

Andre Russell decided the match twice over. He finished unbeaten on 52 off 29 balls, hitting two fours and five sixes, after Lokesh Bam (50 off 40) and Imran Sheikh (56 off 45) shared a 107-run second-wicket stand. Biratnagar scored 62 runs in the final five overs, and Russell then defended 13 runs in the last over, dismissing Harmeet Singh for a duck and Saif Hassan, who top-scored with 71 off 48 balls, off the last ball. Russell finished with four wickets for 45 runs in his final NPL appearance of the season.

The result changes the meaning of Biratnagar's season. A side that began with defeats to Chitwan Rhinos and Karnali Yaks, then won a rain-shortened five-over game against Sudurpaschim Royals, now leads the league. Their captain, Sandeep Lamichhane, showed the mindset behind that recovery after the delayed Match 8 evening, when he said: “Our players, including the overseas players, were fully ready to play. We wanted to play. But our position was that we would abide by whatever decision the officials made.” That readiness is what has carried Biratnagar from sixth to first in two matches.

Four Teams Level on Four Points

Behind Biratnagar, the summit is crowded. Karnali Yaks are second on four points from three matches with a net run rate of +0.295, Janakpur Bolts are third on four points from four matches at +0.102, and Sudurpaschim Royals are fourth on four points from four matches at -1.065. When points are level, net run rate decides the order, and a single heavy result in the next round could reorder all four sides.

Karnali's position is the strongest of the chasing three, because they hold a game in hand on Biratnagar, Janakpur and Sudurpaschim. They have won two of their three matches, both before Monday's four-wicket defeat to Kathmandu Gorkhas, in which they posted 180 for 6 and took the chase into the final over. Their captain, Sompal Kami, set the tone after the win over Biratnagar, when he told the post-match press conference that the points mattered more than his own performance. “More than my innings, these two points were very important for us. I hope we can maintain this winning momentum,” he said. Karnali banked their points early, and that bank keeps them second even after the defeat.

Sompal also spoke in that press conference about why he plays the way he does. “I play cricket because I love it. If I play out of fear, I cannot enjoy it. So, I enjoy every ball and every moment,” he said. Karnali will not retreat into caution after one defeat. Their next fixture, against Sudurpaschim Royals on November 6, is a direct contest between two sides on four points.

Lumbini Game in Hand and Chitwan Slip

Behind the four sides on four points, Lumbini Lions hold fifth place on three points, and Chitwan Rhinos slip to sixth on the same tally. The two sides are separated by a vast gap in net run rate: Lumbini's +4.599 is the best in the league, built on bowling Sudurpaschim out for 87 in the season opener, while Chitwan's -0.486 reflects a season that began with an eight-run win over Biratnagar, included a shared point from the washout against Lumbini, and now includes a five-wicket defeat to Sudurpaschim.

Lumbini's position is the most interesting in the middle of the table. They are the only unbeaten side left in the tournament, with one win and one no result from two matches, which means they have two games in hand on the sides above them. Two wins from their remaining five fixtures would put them on seven points. Tuesday evening against Pokhara Avengers is their chance to turn a game in hand into two more points, and a win would take them outright second on five points.

For Chitwan, the table now asks a different question. Their batting carried them past Biratnagar in the opener and to 129 for 6 against Sudurpaschim, but they have not defended a total yet, and their net run rate means they cannot afford to keep losing close games. With four matches left, they need wins rather than near misses.

Kathmandu Two Points and Pokhara Winless

Below the middle pair, two sides sit further back, and the gap between them is already a story in itself. Kathmandu Gorkhas are seventh on two points from two matches at -0.466, after their first win of the season on Monday afternoon. Chasing 181 against Karnali, they reached 181 for 6 in 19.4 overs, with Rashid Khan making 50 off 33 balls and captain Karan KC smashing 44 off just 20. For a side bowled out for 115 in its first match, that chase changed their season: from no points to one win from the top four.

At the foot of the table, Pokhara Avengers remain the only side without a point: zero from two matches, net run rate -0.934. Their problem is not their bowling, which held Janakpur to 147 in Match 9; it is a batting line-up that has twice failed to chase a gettable total, falling nine runs short against Janakpur after earlier losing to Sudurpaschim. A third defeat, against Lumbini on Tuesday evening, would leave them adrift of the top four with four games left, needing to win nearly all of them.

Kathmandu's win over Karnali proved that any side can beat any other on a given day at Kirtipur, yet Pokhara have twice failed to take that chance. Their season will be defined by whether Tuesday evening is the night their batting finally clicks, or the night the playoff race leaves them behind.

Tuesday Evening Stakes and Playoff Race

Tuesday's second match is the next sorting mechanism. Lumbini Lions face Pokhara Avengers at 5:00 PM NST at Kirtipur, and the table gives both sides a clear prize. A Lumbini win takes the defending champions to five points and outright second place. A Pokhara win opens their account, drags them level with Kathmandu on two points, and keeps their season alive before the November 5 double-header.

Beyond Tuesday, the calendar already sets up the next shake-up. November 5 brings Lumbini against Janakpur at 12:30 PM NST, followed by Kathmandu against Biratnagar at 5:00 PM NST. November 6 brings Sudurpaschim against Karnali, a four-point contest at the top. Each of those fixtures can reorder a table where four sides share first place and only net run rate separates them.

Only twelve of the twenty-eight league matches have been played, and four points separate first from last. The top four at the end of the league stage reach the playoffs, with Qualifier 1 on November 17, the Eliminator on November 18, Qualifier 2 on November 19 and the final on November 21. The full standings, and the match that changed them, are covered in our report on Biratnagar's two-run win over Janakpur.