Quick Facts
- Match
- Match 21 — Sudurpaschim Royals vs Janakpur Bolts, 10 November 2026, TU International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
- Result
- Sudurpaschim Royals 120/9 beat Janakpur Bolts 93 all out (19.5 overs) by 27 runs
- Top scorers
- Brandon McMullen 33 off 23 balls; Tharindu Ratnayake 27 not out off 28; Tritraj Das 21 off 29
- Best bowling
- Harmeet Singh 4/17; Scott Kuggeleijn 3/13; Dipendra Singh Airee 1/15
- Playoff picture
- Sudurpaschim second with 8 points from six matches, into the playoffs with Kathmandu Gorkhas; Janakpur fifth with 4 points and one match left
Sudurpaschim Royals turned a below-par total into a playoff ticket at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, defending 120 to beat Janakpur Bolts by 27 runs in Match 21 of the Nepal Premier League. Janakpur, chasing 121, were bowled out for 93 in 19.5 overs, and the result confirmed Sudurpaschim's place in the playoffs alongside Kathmandu Gorkhas, while leaving the inaugural champions staring at elimination.
A win that seals a playoff place
It was Sudurpaschim's third win in a row and their fourth in six matches, taking them to eight points and second place in the standings. Kathmandu also have eight points but sit above them on a superior net run rate. Janakpur, beaten for the fourth time in six outings, stay fifth on four points with only one league fixture remaining, against Chitwan Rhinos.
The margin, in the end, was comfortable. The evening had not looked that way at the halfway mark. Sudurpaschim had stumbled to 120 for nine after winning the toss and choosing to bat, and a chase of 121 on a surface that had already produced a string of low scores felt well within Janakpur's reach. Instead, the Royals' bowlers spent the next hour proving that 120 was plenty.
Kuggeleijn sets the tone
Scott Kuggeleijn did the early damage. The New Zealand quick removed the struggling Anil Sah for two and, with Hemant Dhami removing Aaditya Mahata for 10 at the other end, Janakpur were under pressure before the powerplay was out. Kuggeleijn finished with three wickets for 13 runs in his four overs, the best figures of the match, and his opening burst set a pattern Janakpur never escaped: a wicket, a brief stand, another wicket.
Tritraj Das top-scored for Janakpur with 21 off 29 balls, and Jimmy Neesham made 20 off 25, but nobody else reached double figures except Rahul Yadav, whose 11 off six balls came far too late. Harry Tector, on his first appearance in the tournament, made one. Ryan Burl managed eight, captain Harmeet Singh four, Bishal Sushling two and Abhishek Tiwari two. Lalit Rajbanshi was left unbeaten on five when Anil Kharel bowled Rahul Yadav with the fourth ball of the final over to end the innings.
The supporting cast matched Kuggeleijn. Dipendra Singh Airee conceded only 15 runs in his four overs and took a wicket, his somersault celebration after one dismissal becoming the image of the night. Hemant Dhami, Tharindu Ratnayake, Anil Kharel and Ishan Pandey took one wicket each, and between them the Royals never let a partnership grow long enough to threaten the target.
McMullen and Ratnayake rescue the innings
Sudurpaschim's total had needed rescuing of its own. They lost opener Binod Bhandari for 10 to a direct hit from Lalit Rajbanshi, and Rahul Yadav bowled the other opener, Saif Zaib, for 10. Harmeet Singh then bowled Ishan Pandey for three before Airee was caught and bowled by Aaditya Mahata for one, and at that point the Royals were wobbling badly.
Brandon McMullen steadied them. The Scot top-scored with 33 off 23 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes, and his brisk innings gave the total a spine. Aarif Sheikh contributed 11 off 16 balls, and Tharindu Ratnayake, unbeaten on 27 off 28 balls with one four and two sixes, shepherded the lower order through the closing overs. Abinash Bohara was two not out at the end, and 120 for nine, modest as it looked, turned out to be 27 runs too many.
Harmeet's four wickets in vain
The irony of the evening belonged to Harmeet Singh. Playing against his former team for the first time, the Janakpur captain produced the outstanding bowling performance of the match, taking four wickets for 17 runs in his four overs. He had represented Sudurpaschim in the previous two seasons and helped them reach the final on both occasions, and he knew their batters well enough to dismantle them. After removing Kuggeleijn for six, he struck twice in consecutive deliveries, dismissing Anil Kharel for three and Hemant Dhami for a duck.
Tector, making his debut in the tournament, backed him up with one wicket for nine runs in four overs. Aaditya Mahata, Abhishek Tiwari and Rahul Yadav claimed one wicket each. But a bowling performance that good deserved a chase to match it, and Janakpur's batting never gave it one.
The defeat carries a sting beyond the two points. Janakpur beat Sudurpaschim in the final to win the inaugural edition of the tournament two years ago, and this was a chance to measure themselves against the side they had edged on the biggest night in the league's short history. Instead, they were bowled out for the lowest total of their season, and the side that finished runners-up to them in 2024 has now beaten them to a playoff place.
The playoff picture
With seven league matches left after this one, the table is tightening at both ends. Sudurpaschim's eight points put them level with Kathmandu at the top, separated only by net run rate, and with one league match still to play they can now plan for the playoffs rather than worry about reaching them. Their run of three straight wins, built on bowling discipline rather than batting firepower, has made them one of the hardest sides in the league to chase against.
Lumbini Lions sit third on seven points, and the race for the remaining playoff places runs through them, Chitwan Rhinos and Biratnagar Kings. Janakpur's path is now the narrowest of all. Four points from six matches means even a win in their final league game, against Chitwan Rhinos, may not be enough. They need that win first, and then they need results elsewhere to fall their way. A side that began the season as former champions is, with one round to go, depending on favours.
That is the cost of a batting collapse in a low-scoring game. Janakpur's bowlers had done their job, holding a strong batting line-up to 120. Their batters then made the chase look far harder than it was, losing wickets in clusters and never building the one partnership, worth forty or fifty, that would have settled it. In a tournament where margins have been thin all season, 27 runs is a heavy defeat.
Sudurpaschim, by contrast, will take belief from this win that goes beyond the points. Defending 120 takes a bowling unit that trusts its plans and a fielding side that backs it up, and the Royals had both. Kuggeleijn's opening spell, Airee's control through the middle, and the calm with which Ratnayake had earlier lifted the total from trouble to respectability all point to a side peaking at the right time.
The league continues on Thursday with Biratnagar Kings against Pokhara Avengers. For Sudurpaschim, the focus shifts to finishing the league stage strongly and carrying this momentum into the playoffs. For Janakpur, the equation is simple and unforgiving: beat Chitwan Rhinos in their last league match, and hope.
FAQs
What was the result of Sudurpaschim Royals vs Janakpur Bolts in NPL Match 21?
Sudurpaschim Royals beat Janakpur Bolts by 27 runs in NPL Match 21 at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. Sudurpaschim scored 120 for nine in 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first, and Janakpur were bowled out for 93 in 19.5 overs chasing 121.
Who were the top performers in the match?
Brandon McMullen top-scored for Sudurpaschim with 33 off 23 balls, and Tharindu Ratnayake made an unbeaten 27 off 28. For Janakpur, captain Harmeet Singh took four wickets for 17 runs against his former team, while Scott Kuggeleijn led Sudurpaschim's bowling with three wickets for 13 runs.
Have Sudurpaschim Royals qualified for the NPL playoffs?
Yes. The win took Sudurpaschim to eight points from six matches and second place in the standings, confirming their playoff place alongside Kathmandu Gorkhas, who also have eight points but lead on a superior net run rate. It was Sudurpaschim's third win in a row.
What do Janakpur Bolts need to reach the playoffs now?
Janakpur have four points from six matches and only one league fixture left, against Chitwan Rhinos. They must win that match and then need other results to go their way to reach the playoffs. The inaugural champions are in danger of missing out after their fourth defeat in six games.
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