Sandeep Lamichhane Takes 6 Wickets, Hat-Trick in NPL

Biratnagar Kings captain Sandeep Lamichhane produced the bowling spell of the season so far at Kirtipur on Thursday, taking six wickets including a hat-trick as Pokhara Avengers were bowled out for 132 in Match 22 of the Nepal Premier League. The leg-spinner finished with 6 for 27 from four overs, the first six-wicket haul of Season 3, and left Biratnagar chasing 133 to climb into the top four.

Pokhara choose to bat

Pokhara had won the toss and chosen to bat, and for most of the innings the decision looked sound. Yuvraj Samra was timing the ball beautifully at the top of the order, and at 112 for 5 after 14 overs the visitors were shaping for a total closer to 160. Then Lamichhane came back for his third over, and the match turned on three balls.

Biratnagar's bowlers had kept Pokhara quiet from the start. Arjun Kumal fell for 1, captain Kushal Bhurtel for a duck, and when Arjun Gharti went at 46 for 3 the innings was already leaning Biratnagar's way. Samra held it together from one end, adding 36 with Dhananjaya Lakshan, but the total never quite got away from the Kings.

The over that changed the match

The 15th over began with Samra on 74 and Lakshan on 18. Lamichhane's third ball found Samra's edge, and Isuru Udana held the catch to end an innings of 84 from 47 balls. The fourth ball trapped Pokhara captain Chamika Karunaratne leg before wicket first ball. The fifth did the same to Kiran Thagunna, also first ball, and Lamichhane had his hat-trick. Three balls, three wickets, and Pokhara had slid from 112 for 5 to 122 for 8.

It was the fourth hat-trick in the league's history. Shahab Alam of Kathmandu Gorkhas took the first, in 2025, Lumbini Lions captain Rohit Paudel took one in the 2025 final, and Pratish GC took one earlier in Season 3. Lamichhane's name now sits alongside theirs, and he did it in the biggest week of his team's season.

The hat-trick also ended the one innings that had kept Pokhara in the game. Samra had carried his side almost single-handed, and once he went the rest of the batting folded quickly. Lakshan, the last recognised batter, was run out for 22 in the 18th over, and the innings closed two balls later.

Six wickets, one spell

The hat-trick was the finish, not the whole story. Lamichhane had already removed three batters before it. Arjun Gharti, caught by Rupesh Singh for 5, Sunny BK, stumped by Lokesh Bam for 12, and Ramesh Mendis, leg before for a duck, had all fallen to him as Pokhara's middle order wobbled. After two overs he had 3 for 12; after three, 6 for 23; after four, 6 for 27.

The rest of the attack played its part. Angelo Mathews took 1 for 22, Charith Asalanka 1 for 28, and Rupesh Singh closed the innings with the final wicket, Bipin Khatri caught by Lamichhane himself for 5. Sagar Dhakal was left unbeaten on 1 as Pokhara's innings closed at 132 in 17.5 overs.

It was a complete bowling performance, and the figures tell the story plainly. Six of the ten wickets fell to one bowler, four Pokhara batters failed to score, and a side that had posted 217 in its previous match was bowled out with 13 balls to spare.

Samra's lone stand

Samra's 84 from 47 balls deserved a better ending. He struck seven fours and five sixes, carried Pokhara past 100 almost on his own, and was still going strong when Lamichhane's hat-trick ball found him. He had scored his first NPL century earlier in the season, and for a while it looked as though he might repeat it.

No other Pokhara batter passed 22. Lakshan made 22 from 15 balls before he was run out, Sunny BK made 12, and the rest of the order managed 5, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0 and 0 between them. Four batters failed to score at all, three of them to Lamichhane.

A season turned around

The figures were a sharp turn for Lamichhane himself. He had taken only one wicket in his first five matches of the season, and the questions about his form had been growing louder with every game. In his sixth match he took six. That is the shape of a season changing in a single afternoon.

Lamichhane has been Biratnagar's marquee player and captain since the league began, and he finished the 2025 season as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets. This spell was his reminder that the best version of him is still the one opposition teams plan around, and it came at the moment his team needed it most.

Where it sits in the record books

The 6 for 27 is the second-best bowling figure in NPL history, behind Shahab Alam's 6 for 25 against Pokhara in 2025 and ahead of William Bosisto's 6 for 28 from the first season. It is only the third six-wicket haul the league has seen, and the second to arrive with a hat-trick inside it.

For the season, it sets a new mark. No bowler had taken six wickets in a Season 3 match before Thursday. Rijan Dhakal led the wicket race with 10 wickets before today, but Lamichhane now has seven from six matches, and the gap has closed fast.

What it means for the table

Biratnagar came into the match sixth with four points, and a win takes them to six points and fourth place, above Chitwan Rhinos on five, with one league match left, against Lumbini Lions on Saturday. Pokhara, last on two points, needed a second straight win after their first victory of the season against Karnali Yaks, and this defeat leaves them with only their match against Kathmandu Gorkhas to play.

Biratnagar began the chase needing 133 from 20 overs. The result will decide whether Lamichhane's spell is remembered as a famous win or only a famous spell, but either way, the hat-trick is already the moment of the season so far.