Karnali Yaks started NPL Season 3 brightly with a 19 run win against Janakpur Bolts at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground.
Karnali Yaks scored 132/9 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first. In reply, Janakpur could not chase and fell short of their target as they were bowled out for 113 in 19.3 overs.
Karnali Yaks bowlers were crucial in the second innings as Unish Thakuri and Hussain Talat picked up three wickets each.
Batsmen Ariful Islam Shines
Karnali Yaks lost wickets early in the innings as the Janakpur Bolts’ captain Harmeet Singh chose to bowl first.
They lost opener Mark Watt cheaply for 1 run, and Deepak Dumre scored 13 before being dismissed. Hussain Talat also struggled, scoring 3 runs.
Ariful Islam played a vital role in steadying the innings as he scored a career high of 43 runs in 29 balls. Pawan Sarraf chipped in with 37 off 37 balls. Their 42 run partnership in the 4th wicket helped Karnali Yaks get back into the game.
Gulshan Jha scored 12 runs and Nandan Yadav scored 9 runs. However, the rest of the batters struggled to score significant runs.
Karnali Yaks were eventually bowled out for 132/9.
Bowlers Harmeet Singh Took The Plunge
The Janakpur Bolts bowlers held Karnali Yaks back from scoring too many runs.
Harmeet Singh took three wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs. Moeen Ali and Rahul Yadav both took two wickets whilst Lalit Rajbanshi took one.
Rahul Yadav had an instant impact after he was selected for the team via a talent hunt as he took the first ball of the innings to dismiss Deepak Dumre.
However, they struggled to carry this into their batting innings.
Abhishek Tiwari Tops Scoring
Janakpur Bolts struggled as they lost wickets regularly throughout their innings.
Abhishek Tiwari was the top scorer in the innings with 20 runs. Harmeet Singh and Moeen Ali chipped in with 19 runs each. Jimmy Neesham scored 15 runs and Mayan Yadav scored 14.
Anil Kumar Sah scored 11 runs but the team couldn’t form any partnerships.
The bowlers continued to take wickets as Karnali Yaks’ bowlers put them under pressure in the middle and death overs. They were eventually bowled out for 113 in 19.3 overs.
Key Bowlers Thakuri And Talat
Unish Thakuri and Hussain Talat shone for the Karnali Yaks.
Both of them took three wickets which caused problems for the Janakpur Bolts’ batting line up.
Thakuri took two key wickets in the same over as he dismissed captain Harmeet Singh and Jimmy Neesham. This slowed down Janakpur Bolts and put Karnali Yaks into a strong position.
Nandan Yadav took two wickets whilst Karnali Yaks captain Sompal Kami took one.
This meant that Janakpur could not recover.
Important Win For Karnali Yaks
This win is a crucial start for the Karnali Yaks in NPL Season 3.
It shows that you can hold your ground with a disciplined bowling performance. Ariful Islam and Pawan Sarraf were crucial with the bat whilst Thakuri and Talat were outstanding with their bowling.
Janakpur Bolts will need to improve their batting performance as they struggled to chase their target.
However, both teams will aim to be more consistent in their upcoming games. A 19 run win is a positive start for the Karnali Yaks in NPL Season 3.