Two NPL Matches Today: Biratnagar-Pokhara, Karnali-Lumbini

The Nepal Premier League returns after a day's rest with two matches that pull the playoff race in different directions. Biratnagar Kings meet Pokhara Avengers in the afternoon, and Karnali Yaks face Lumbini Lions under lights, both at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Thursday, 12 November 2026. The first match starts at 12:30 PM NST; the second begins at 5:00 PM NST. Neither fixture has been played before this season, so both pairs meet for the first time with the table as tight as it has been all tournament: seven league matches remain after Match 21, and every point from here shapes who plays in the playoffs. Both matches will be shown live on Himalaya Television in Nepal and streamed on the NetTV app.

Biratnagar Kings vs Pokhara Avengers — 12:30 PM NST

Biratnagar arrive sixth with four points from five matches, two wins and three defeats, and a net run rate of minus 0.820. Their season has swung between promise and frustration. They lost their opener to Chitwan Rhinos by eight runs, then lost to Karnali Yaks by four wickets in a game where Karnali chased down 187, and it was only in Match 8 that they found their footing, beating Sudurpaschim Royals by 35 runs. The high point came in Match 12, when three of their batters reached fifty in the same innings — a first in the league — on the way to a two-run win over Janakpur Bolts. Their most recent outing, though, was a nine-wicket defeat to Kathmandu Gorkhas, and that is the result they need to leave behind today.

Lokesh Bam is the reason Biratnagar's batting still carries weight. He leads the tournament run chart with 194 runs from five matches, including 87 against Karnali, and he scores them quickly, at a strike rate of 154. Andre Russell has added 144 runs of his own, and Angelo Mathews has taken seven wickets in four matches. The Kings' problem has been turning those individual performances into complete games: they have won two and lost three, and their net run rate sits below the two teams directly above them.

Pokhara sit last with two points from five matches, one win and four defeats, and a net run rate of minus 0.707. They lost their first four games — by six wickets to Sudurpaschim Royals, by nine runs to Janakpur Bolts, by eight wickets to Lumbini Lions and by 30 runs to Chitwan Rhinos — before finally winning in Match 19, when they posted 217 for 3 against Karnali Yaks and won by 63 runs. That win was their first of the season, and it arrived with the loudest individual performance of the tournament so far.

Yuvraaj Samra's 102 off 48 balls against Karnali is the highest individual score of the season, and it came in only his second match of the tournament. He has 121 runs from those two innings. Captain Kushal Bhurtel has 136 runs from five matches, with a best of 62, and he leads a side that finally has something to defend. The question today is whether one win can become two: Pokhara's remaining league match after this one is against Kathmandu Gorkhas on Sunday, so a defeat here would leave them needing favours from everywhere else.

The arithmetic is simple for Biratnagar. 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. A win for Pokhara takes them to four points, level with Janakpur Bolts, Biratnagar and Karnali, but still outside the top four with only the Kathmandu match left. Either way, the loser leaves Kirtipur with their season hanging by a thread.

Karnali Yaks vs Lumbini Lions — 5:00 PM NST

The evening match pairs a side that has lost three in a row with the team that holds the best net run rate in the league. Karnali Yaks are seventh with four points from five matches, two wins and three defeats, and a net run rate of minus 0.846. They started well, beating Janakpur Bolts by 19 runs and Biratnagar Kings by four wickets, and then lost three straight: by four wickets to Kathmandu Gorkhas, by 39 runs to Sudurpaschim Royals and by 63 runs to Pokhara Avengers. Their last match was their heaviest defeat of the season, and they have had three days since it to reset.

Ariful Islam has 143 runs from five matches and Pawan Sarraf has 140, so Karnali's batting has not been the problem in the main. Captain Sompal Kami has taken nine wickets in five matches, and David Miller's unbeaten 93 off 55 balls against Sudurpaschim Royals showed what their middle order can do on its day. The issue has been finishing games: in their last three matches they have been beaten by four wickets, 39 runs and 63 runs, and the margins have grown each time.

Lumbini Lions are third with seven points from five matches, three wins, one defeat and one no result, and their net run rate of plus 1.501 is the best in the league. They opened the season by beating Sudurpaschim Royals by seven wickets, shared the points with Chitwan Rhinos when rain washed out Match 7, then beat Pokhara Avengers by eight wickets and Janakpur Bolts by 16 runs. Their only defeat came in Match 18, when Kathmandu Gorkhas beat them by 36 runs.

Sher Malla has taken eight wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 5.19, and he gives Lumbini control in the middle overs. The champions have reached this point without any of their batters dominating the run chart, which is a different kind of strength: they have won three matches by sharing the work around, and they arrive this evening as the form side of the two.

A win for Lumbini takes them to nine points and the top of the table, above Kathmandu and Sudurpaschim on eight, and it would guarantee their place in the playoffs: only Chitwan could still reach nine points, and Lumbini's net run rate, the best in the league, would keep them ahead on any tie. A win for Karnali takes them to six points and fourth place, above Chitwan on five, with one league match left, against Chitwan on Sunday. A defeat for Karnali would leave them on four points with the same single match to play, and their playoff hopes would rest on other results.

The points table after Match 21

Kathmandu Gorkhas lead the table with eight points from five matches, ahead of Sudurpaschim Royals on the same points but a lower net run rate. Lumbini Lions are third on seven, Chitwan Rhinos fourth on five, and then three teams — Janakpur Bolts, Biratnagar Kings and Karnali Yaks — sit together on four points, separated only by net run rate. Pokhara Avengers are eighth on two points. Kathmandu and Sudurpaschim have already secured playoff places; the other two places will be decided by the seven league matches still to play, starting with these two.

What today decides

Today is the first day since the rest day that the league plays twice, and it is also the day the table starts to split. By the end of the evening, Lumbini could be top, Biratnagar or Karnali could be fourth, and Pokhara could be either level on points with half the league or effectively out of the race. Each of the four teams has one league match left after today: Biratnagar meet Lumbini on Saturday, Karnali meet Chitwan on Sunday, Pokhara meet Kathmandu on Sunday, and Lumbini's last test is that Saturday meeting with Biratnagar. The playoff picture will be clearer by nightfall, but the shape of it is decided this afternoon and evening at Kirtipur.