NPL Season 3 Fixtures: Opener Lumbini vs Sudurpaschim

The wait for the full Nepal Premier League Season 3 calendar is over. With the fixtures released on September 20, 2026, all eight franchises now know exactly where they stand in a 27-day tournament that begins on October 26 and ends under lights with the grand finale on November 21.

How the season is structured

The tournament runs from October 26 to November 21, 2026, giving fans 27 days of T20 cricket. All eight teams play each other once in a single round-robin league stage, which means every match carries weight in the points table race. There is no room for a slow start: with only seven league games per side, one or two early wins can decide whether a team finishes in the top four or falls short of the playoffs.

The league stage closes on November 15 with a double-header: Chitwan Rhinos take on Karnali Yaks before Pokhara Avengers meet Kathmandu Gorkhas. Fans can follow the full running order on the NPL schedule page.

A single round-robin also keeps the arithmetic simple for supporters: win five of seven and a team is almost certainly in the playoffs, while losing four makes the door start closing. That clarity is part of what makes T20 leagues addictive — every night shifts the table, and with the full fixture list now public, fans can map their team's entire campaign from the opening weekend to the November 15 league finale.

The opener: Lumbini Lions vs Sudurpaschim Royals

The tournament begins with a replay of the Season 2 title fight. Lumbini Lions, the defending champions built around Rohit Paudel, face Sudurpaschim Royals, who reached the final last season with Dipendra Singh Airee leading their strong local core. Opening the season with the two most recent finalists is a powerful choice: it guarantees a high-stakes game on day one and sets an immediate standard for the chasing pack.

The opening clash is scheduled for 5:00 PM on October 26 at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Evening starts matter at this venue because dew can change how the second innings plays out, and captains may prefer to chase under lights. For Lumbini, the match is a chance to open a title defence at home-ground strength; for Sudurpaschim, it is an early statement that last season's final run was no accident.

Ticket demand for opening night is expected to be heavy, so supporters should read the NPL ticketing and fan guide for TU Ground before planning a trip to Kirtipur. Opening matches in past NPL seasons have produced some of the loudest atmospheres of the tournament, and with two finalists involved on October 26, this one should be no different.

Match timings, double-headers and rest days

The fixture list follows a simple rhythm. Days with a single match start at 5:00 PM. On double-header days, the first match begins at 12:30 PM and the second at 5:00 PM, giving spectators a full day of cricket at Kirtipur. Four rest days are built into the calendar — October 30, November 4, November 8 and November 11 — so teams get recovery time between the dense match blocks and can reset before the next phase.

Those rest days matter more than they look. A 27-day T20 league with 28 league matches plus playoffs is a demanding grind, and fast bowlers in particular benefit from the breaks. The gaps also give broadcasters and fans natural reset points: the tournament pauses, the points table settles, and the next block of matches begins with fresh narratives. It is a schedule designed to keep the league competitive deep into November rather than decided early.

Supporters planning around the schedule get a clean structure for travel and viewing: single matches at 5:00 PM on their own days, and 12:30 PM plus 5:00 PM on double-header days. Fans checking how to watch NPL 2026 can lock in those windows now, while the rest days give travelling supporters a breather between the packed phases of the season.

The playoff road to the November 21 final

Once the league stage ends on November 15, the top four teams move into the playoff structure after a short two-day pause. Qualifier 1 on November 17 brings the top two teams together, with the winner going straight to the final. The Eliminator on November 18 pits third against fourth: the loser goes home and the winner survives to face the Qualifier 1 loser in Qualifier 2 on November 19. The system rewards consistency — finishing first or second earns a second chance — while keeping the eliminator brutally dramatic.

The grand finale is set for November 21 under lights, closing the season in prime time. The league will be played under its new title sponsor, Siddhartha Bank, whose partnership with the Nepal Premier League gives Season 3 its official commercial identity. A month of fixtures, storylines and packed stands at Kirtipur will come down to a single night — and with the opener replaying last season's final, the narrative arc of Season 3 starts exactly where the last one ended.

For the eight franchises, the fixture release also starts the planning clock: training blocks, arrival dates for overseas players and match-by-match preparation all flow from these dates. With the auction completed in July and squads largely settled, the next headlines will be foreign player arrivals and confirmed match-day line-ups — and this fixture list is the frame everything hangs on.