Janakpur Bolts Beat Kathmandu Gorkhas by 8 Wickets in NPL

Janakpur Bolts recorded their first victory of the third Nepal Premier League season on Thursday, beating Kathmandu Gorkhas by eight wickets at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

Kathmandu, playing their first match of the tournament, won the toss and batted first. They were bowled out for 115 in 19.3 overs. Bhim Sharki top scored with 33 off 29 balls, with four boundaries. Rashid Khan made 17, Smit Patel 13 and Sumit Maharjan 10, and no other batter reached double figures.

Rahul Yadav led the Janakpur attack with four wickets for 31 runs in his four overs. Saif Hassan took two wickets, and captain Harmeet Singh, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi and Moeen Ali took one each.

The chase

Janakpur reached the target in 17.2 overs, finishing on 117 for two in the match report, with the league scorecard recording 116 for two. Moeen Ali stayed unbeaten on 58 off 51 balls, with three fours and three sixes. Saif Hassan finished unbeaten on 40. Ripon Mandal took one of the two wickets to fall.

The win lifts Janakpur after their opening defeat, a 19 run loss to Karnali Yaks when they were bowled out for 113 chasing 132. Kathmandu start their campaign with a loss and will need a quick improvement in a short league.

Still to come today

The second match of the day at Kirtipur, Karnali Yaks against Biratnagar Kings, was scheduled for 5 p.m. local time. Karnali were chasing a second straight win after beating Janakpur. Biratnagar, captained by Sandeep Lamichhane, were looking for their first win after an eight run defeat against Chitwan Rhinos.

The 2026 NPL has eight franchise teams in a single round robin league, with 28 league matches before the playoffs. All matches are played at Kirtipur.

Context in the table

Janakpur won the first NPL title in 2024, so an 0 and 2 start would have put the former champions under early pressure in a league where every team plays only seven league matches. The win also came with the ball first: bowling Kathmandu out inside 20 overs kept the chase short on a day when Kathmandu, captained by Karan KC, was the last of the eight teams to play its first match.

The league pauses on Friday and returns on Saturday, October 31, with two more matches at Kirtipur: Lumbini Lions against Chitwan Rhinos at 12:30 p.m., then Sudurpaschim Royals against Biratnagar Kings at 5 p.m.