The Kathmandu Gorkhas sent a strong statement in the opening match of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2025, comfortably defeating the defending champions, Janakpur Bolts, by 5 wickets with two overs to spare.
The Gorkhas successfully chased the target of 131, reaching 131/5 in just 18 overs, marking a brilliant start to their campaign.
First Innings: Milind Kumar’s Brilliance
After winning the toss, the Gorkhas’ bowlers set up the victory by restricting the Janakpur Bolts to 130 for 6.
- Aasif Sheikh (54 off 41) was the Bolts’ only major contributor.
- The star with the ball was Milind Kumar (Gorkhas), who delivered a match-winning spell of 3 wickets for just 15 runs in his four overs, ensuring the Bolts never accelerated.
Second Innings: Charlesworth and Tripathi Dominate
The chase began explosively, spearheaded by Ben Charlesworth, who smashed 46 runs off 23 balls. Though Charlesworth fell just short of a deserved fifty, his quick fire start killed any early hope for the Bolts.
The innings was then masterfully steadied by Aakash Tripathi, who anchored the chase with an unbeaten 39 runs off 46 balls. Tripathi saw the team home, managing the loss of quick wickets through the middle overs. Milind Kumar completed a superb all-round performance with 19 runs (19 balls) as the Gorkhas secured the victory easily in the 18th over.
| Batter (Kathmandu Gorkhas) | R | B | Dismissal |
| Ben Charlesworth | 46 | 23 | c & b Loftie-Eaton |
| Aakash Tripathi | 39 | 46 | b Sanjay |
| Bhim Sharki | 3 | 7 | c Milintha b Rajbanshi |
| Milind Kumar | 19 | 22 | c Milintha b Kishor |
| John Simpson | 13 | 6 | lbw b Anil |
| Gerhard Erasmus | 1 | 1 | Not Out |
| Mohammad Aadil Alam | 8 | 4 | Not Out |
| Extras | 2 | (WD 2) | |
| TOTAL | 131 | 108 | (5 Wickets, 18 Overs) |
| Bowler (Janakpur Bolts) | O | R | W | Econ |
| Anil Kumar Shah | 4 | 26 | 1 | 6.50 |
| Lalit Rajbanshi | 4 | 26 | 1 | 6.50 |
| Kishore Mahato | 3 | 28 | 1 | 9.33 |
| Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | 3 | 16 | 1 | 5.33 |
| Sanjay Krishnamurthi | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8.00 |
| Rupesh Kumar Singh | 2 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 |
| Bikash Aagri | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Lahiru Samarakoon | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 |
