२०८१ नेपाल प्रिमियर लिगको फाइनल

**२०८१ को नेपाल प्रिमियर लिग**को फाइनल २१ डिसेम्बर २०२४ मा कीर्तिपुरस्थित त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट मैदानमा खेलिएको थियो। सुदूरपश्चिम रोयल्सले क्वालिफायर १ मा जित हासिल गरेपछि फाइनलको लागि छनोट भएको थियो। उनीहरूले जनकपुर बोल्टसँग प्रतिस्पर्धा गरेका थिए, जसले क्वालिफायर २ मा जित हासिल गरेपछि फाइनलको लागि छनोट भएको थियो।

## Background 
On 18 November 2024, the CAN announced the schedule for the 2024 season of the Nepal Premier League. It was announced that all the matches including playoffs would  be played at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. Sudurpaschim Royals and Janakpur Bolts qualified for the Final.

## Road to the final 
Sudurpaschim Royals had a successful league stage with only 1 loss against Chitwan Rhinos. They won the rest 6 matches garnering a total of 12 points finishing atop the league table. They defeated Janakpur Bolts in Qualifier 1 to gain their place in the Final.

Janakpur Bolts finished second in the league table winning 5 games and losing 2 games against Sudurpaschim Royals and Chitwan Rhinos to end with a total of 10 points. They again lost the Qualifier 1 to Sudurpaschim Royals and had to defeat Karnali Yaks in Qualifier 2 for a place in the Final.

## Match 
### Match officials 
* **On-field umpires**: Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg) and Rashid Riaz (Pak)
* **Third umpire**: Buddhi Pradhan (Nep)
* **Reserve umpire**: Sanjay Sigdel (Nep)
* **Match referee**: Manu Nayyar (Ind)
* **Toss**: Sudurpaschim Royals  won the toss and elected to bat.

### Summary 
### Sudurpaschim Royals innings 
Sudurpaschim Royals (SR) won the toss and elected to bat. The team had early start. Both opening batters, Saif Zaib and Binod Bhandari smashed bolwer till first 10 overs. Saif Zaib was the first to fall, bowled by Nepalese fast bowler Kishore Mahato for 69 runs in the twelfth over. Nepalese batter Binod Bhandari followed soon after, clean bowled for 41 runs off Left-arm spiner Lalit Rajbanshi's bowling. SR's top order continued to falter, with Harmeet Singh scoring 14 runs before being caught off Mohsin's bowling, leaving SR at 143 for the loss of 3 wickets in the fifteenth over.

Scottish Brandon McMullen tried to stabilize the innings, scoring 14 runs off 12 balls, but he too fell, bowled off Kiwi' all-rounder James Neesham's bowling. Captain Dipendra Singh Airee added 9 runs before being dismissed by spiner Mohammad Mohsin, while Kiwi Scott Kuggeleijn contributed 13 runs before also falling to Mahato.Ishan Pandey, managed 6 runs off 2 balls, including one four, but his effort was cut short when he was runout off Mohsin. Naresh Budayair managed 8 runs, including one six, before being caught pacer Mahato's bowling. Aarif Sheikh and Naren Saud did not add much, with Sheikh being caught to leg spinner Mohsin for 1 and Saud remaining not out on 1.

### Janakpur Bolts innings 
Janakpur Bolts (JB) had a good start to the chase and both the openers Lahiru Milantha and Aasif Sheikh were looking in great form. Sheikh scored a quick 33 off 19 balls before being caught by Brandon McMullen off Saif Zaib' bowling in the seventh over. Mohammad Mohsin joined Milantha, but unable to stood on crease as he was dismissed cheaply by Ishan Pandey. This brought Harsh Thaker to the crease, who, alongside opener Milantha, took control of the chase. Milantha scored 87 runs off 49 balls, including nine fours and four sixes before eventually being dismissed in the sixteenth over, caught and bowled by Scott Kuggeleijn. Later, James Neesham and Thaker tried to stabilize the innings and took the score to 176 but as the run rate went down, Neesham while trying to score a boundary was dismissed by captain Dipendra Singh Airee on 4. Soon, Aakash Tripathi were also cheaply dismissed by Airee through runout. Thaker continued his innings after the loss of Tripathi, reaching 30 off 24 balls. Mayan Yadav, joined him at the crease and contributed 2 off 3 balls, helping reach the target with 4 balls to spare.

;1st innings

|colspan="4"| Extras 8 (b 1, lb 1, w 6)  **Total 184/9 (20 overs)**
|12
|8
| 9.2 RR

**Fall of wickets:** 117-1 (Saif Zaib, 11.6 ov), 117-2 (Binod Bhandari, 12.2 ov), 143-3 (Harmeet Singh, 14.6 ov), 149-4 (Brandon McMullen, 15.6 ov), 167-5 (Dipendra Singh Airee, 18.1 ov), 169-6 (Aarif Sheikh, 18.5 ov), 173-7 (Scott Kuggeleijn, 19.1 ov), 181-8 (Naresh Budayair, 19.4 ov), 184-9 (Ishan Pandey, 19.6 ov)

;2nd innings

|colspan="4"| Extras 18 (b2, w 16)  **Total 185/5 (19.2 overs)**
|13
|9
| 9.6 RR

**Fall of wickets:** 73-1 (Aasif Sheikh, 6.6 ov), 105-2 (Mohammad Mohsin, 9.6 ov), 166-3 (Lahiru Milantha, 15.3 ov), 176-4 (James Neesham, 16.6 ov), 182-5 (Aakash Tripathi, 18.4 ov)

## सन्दर्भ सामग्रीहरू