NPL Qualifier 2: Janakpur Bolts joins Sudurpaschim Royals in final after win over Karnali Yaks

Kirtipur, December 19 — Janakpur Bolts beats Karnali Yaks by 2 wickets in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) Qualifier 2 in a thrilling encounter at Kirtipur Stadium.

Karnali Yaks, batting first, posted a total of 118/9 in their allotted 20 overs, with contributions from Dev Khanal (24), Gulsan Jha (25), and Unish Thakuri (12).

Despite a few good individual performances, they failed to build significant partnerships, with Mohammad Mohsin (2/14), James Neesham (2/30), and Lalit Rajbanshi (2/22) doing the damage with the ball for Janakpur.

Chasing a target of 119, Janakpur Bolts faced early setbacks, losing key wickets and finding themselves at 9/3.

However, James Neesham played a match-winning knock of 45 runs off just 17 balls, including 2 fours and 5 sixes, to revive their chase.

Sher Malla's 16-run not out and a late partnership helped them reach the target in 19 overs, securing the win by 2 wickets.

Karnali's Bipin Sharma was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/17, but Janakpur's lower-order resilience saw them through.