Pokhara vs Sudurpaschim Highlights, NPL 2026 Match 4

Pokhara vs Sudurpaschim highlights from NPL 2026 Match 4: Sudurpaschim Royals chased down 146 with 19 balls to spare at Kirtipur on 28 October 2026. Captain Dipendra Singh Airee's unbeaten 51 and Anil Kharel's 3 for 23 delivered the two-time finalists their first win of the season.

Pokhara 145 for 7: Gharti's Late Surge Sets 146

Sudurpaschim won the toss and sent Pokhara in at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Wednesday 28 October 2026, and for most of the first innings that call looked right. Pokhara, playing their first match of the tournament, lost wickets at regular intervals and were 105 for 6 before their lower order found a late surge.

Bangladesh opener Mahedi Hasan top-scored early with 32 off 21 balls, hitting four fours and a six, but his opening partner Dinesh Kharel managed only four, captain Kushal Bhurtel made 21 off 17 balls, and former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan made 14 off 16. Sadeera Samarawickrama, playing his first match for Pokhara after signing on Wednesday, scored eight, Dhananjaya Lakshan made 11 and Kiran Thagunna one.

The innings changed with Arjun Gharti. He finished unbeaten on 40 off 25 balls, striking four fours and a six, and hit two fours and a six off Scott Kuggeleijn in the final over to lift Pokhara from a below-par total to 145 for 7. Bipin Khatri stayed with him, unbeaten on five, and the pair's late hitting gave Pokhara something to defend.

Anil Kharel was the bowler who kept Pokhara in check. The left-arm spinner took three wickets for 23 runs in three overs, removing Mahedi, Shakib and Samarawickrama, while Hemant Dhami took one for 14 in three overs and captain Dipendra Singh Airee one for 21 in four. Kuggeleijn, expensive at one for 49 in four overs, took the wicket of Thagunna but was punished at the death.

Sudurpaschim Chase: Airee and Pandey's 74-Run Stand

Sudurpaschim's chase began shakily. Opener Binod Bhandari hit a four off the first ball and was bowled by Dhananjaya Lakshan off the second, Scotland batter Brandon McMullen made a brisk 22 off 12 balls before being trapped lbw by Shakib, and opener Saif Zaib was run out for 15. At 37 for 3, the two-time finalists were wobbling again after being bowled out for 87 by Lumbini in the opener.

Then captain Dipendra Singh Airee joined Ishan Pandey, and the pair took the match away from Pokhara with a 74-run stand for the fourth wicket. Pandey scored 37 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes, before falling lbw to Mahedi Hasan, but by then the required rate was under control and the chase had a shape.

Airee finished the job himself. He reached his half-century with a six off Pokhara captain Kushal Bhurtel and then hit the winning runs, finishing unbeaten on 51 off 36 balls with four fours and two sixes. Sherfane Rutherford, who joined him after Pandey's dismissal, struck a six off his second delivery from Mahedi and finished unbeaten on eight off four balls, as Sudurpaschim reached 148 for 4 in 16.5 overs with 19 balls to spare.

Player of the Match: Airee's All-Round Night

Airee was named Player of the Match for an all-round night: 51 not out off 36 balls with the bat and one wicket for 21 runs in four overs with the ball, including the wicket of Bhurtel. It was the second half-century of the season, after Dawid Malan's 70 for Chitwan Rhinos against Biratnagar Kings in Match 2, and it came after the seven-wicket defeat in the opener.

The win also matters for what Sudurpaschim are. They reached the final in both previous editions of the NPL but have yet to win the title, and their first match of this season, a seven-wicket loss to defending champions Lumbini Lions, had raised early questions about their batting. Chasing 146 with 19 balls to spare answered those questions, and Airee, who also took the catch that removed Mahedi, was at the centre of both innings.

For Pokhara, the defeat continues a familiar story. They are the only team yet to reach the NPL playoffs, finishing seventh in the inaugural edition in 2024 and fifth in 2025, and their first match of this season ended in defeat despite Gharti's late hitting and Kharel's three wickets. Their overseas core, Shakib, Mahedi and Mohammad Saifuddin, plus Samarawickrama's late arrival, gives them experience, but their next match, against Janakpur Bolts on 1 November, is already a game they cannot afford to lose.

What Match 4 Means for the Points Table

After four matches, four teams sit on two points: Lumbini Lions, Chitwan Rhinos, Karnali Yaks and now Sudurpaschim Royals, who have played one game more than the other three. Biratnagar Kings, Janakpur Bolts and Pokhara Avengers are still looking for their first win, while Kathmandu Gorkhas are yet to play a match. The full standings are on the points table, and the full scorecard sits on the Pokhara vs Sudurpaschim match centre.

Both teams play again within days. Sudurpaschim face Biratnagar Kings on Saturday 31 October at 5:00 PM NST, while Pokhara meet Janakpur Bolts on Sunday 1 November at 5:00 PM NST, both at Kirtipur. Before that, Thursday 29 October is a double-header at the same ground, covered in NPL 2026 Day Four: Janakpur-Kathmandu, Karnali-Biratnagar, and the match report for this game is covered in Airee Fifty Powers Sudurpaschim to First NPL Win.

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