KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Gorkhas boosted their playoff hopes with a five-wicket win over Karnali Yaks in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Sunday.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Karnali scored 149 runs for the loss of seven wickets. In reply, Kathmandu overcame the target, losing five wickets with 12 balls remaining.

Karnali made a disappointing start with the bat as they lost opener Priyank Panchal for a duck and No. 3 batter William Boaisto for one. Although Mark Watt (30) and Pawan Sarraf (35) rebuilt the innings, Karnali lost momentum after the two fell, losing Najibullah Zadran (12) and captain Kamal Kami (6) cheaply. Gulsan Jha scored 49 off 22 balls in his aggressive knock to take Karnali close to 150.

Rashid Khan took two wickets for Kathmandu, while Karan KC, Milind Kumar and Santosh Yadav picked up one each.

Kathmandu started the chase brightly, adding 40 runs for the first wicket in 4.2 overs. Although Kathmandu lost opener Aakash Tripathi (8) and Milind Kumar (15) cheaply, Gerhard Erasmus and John Simpson kept them on the hunt. Simpson fell for 41 off 21 balls, but Erasmus held firm and scored 43 off 33 balls to take Kathmandu home with two overs remaining.

Nandan Yadav claimed three wickets for Karnali, while Pawan Sarraf had a wicket to his name.

With the win, Kathmandu climbed to second place on the table with eight points from six matches, ahead of Biratnagar, who are level on points but trail on run rate despite having played one match fewer.

Karnali, on the other hand, slumped to sixth position with two points from five matches. Their chances of making it to the playoffs appear slim.