Janakpur Becomes the First Team to Reach the Playoffs, Defeats Kathmandu by 5 Wickets

KATHMANDU – Janakpur Jets has become the first team to reach the playoffs in the Nepal Premier League (NPL). On Thursday, in the second match of the day at the TU Ground in Kirtipur, Janakpur defeated Kathmandu Gurkhas by 5 wickets, confirming their place in the final four with one match remaining.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Kathmandu set a target of 104 runs. Janakpur successfully chased it down in 15.5 overs, losing 5 wickets. With this win, Janakpur climbed to the top of the standings with 10 points from 6 games. This was their fifth victory in their sixth match.

In Janakpur’s win, Jamie Nisham made 27 runs, Lahiru Milintha scored 16, and Anil Shah contributed 11 runs. Harsh Thakar played an unbeaten innings of 25 runs.

For Kathmandu, Karan KC took 2 wickets, while Sahav Alam, Gerhard Erasmus, and Dipesh Kandel each took 1 wicket.

Earlier, Kathmandu, batting first, was all out for 101 runs in 19.3 overs. Gerhard Erasmus was the highest scorer for Kathmandu with 20 runs. Apart from him, Stephen Eskanzi made 17 runs, and Karan KC scored 19 runs. Other players were unable to perform well.

For Janakpur, Lalit Rajbanshi and Sher Mall each took 3 wickets, while Mohammad Mohsin took 2 wickets, and Kishor Mahto and Araniko Yadav took 1 wicket each.