Last year, the Sudurpaschim Royals lost six tosses in the league stage, yet they still won five matches. They enjoyed defending totals — even defending 123 against the Bolts in the league match. The final was an exception, where the Bolts chased down 185 against them. This time, though, they were defending only 147 with the dew factor in play. A match that seemed gone after the 10-over mark was pulled off spectacularly by the Royals. The umpire’s decision became a major talking point, but the Royals clearly outfielded the Gorkhas in this encounter. Despite one dropped catch, they were superb in the field. Their fielders put their bodies on the line and held on to most chances — none better than Scott Kuggeleijn’s stunning catch to dismiss Milind Kumar.

Chasing a modest total under lights, the Gorkhas were 51/3 in the Powerplay. Ben Charlesworth (8) was removed early by Dhami (2/26). Bhim Sharki (12) couldn’t capitalize even after being dropped by Naren Saud at third man when he was on 6. Santosh Yadav was run out when he challenged Kuggeleijn’s arm at long-on. However, a 49-run stand between Aakash Tripathi (34) and John Simpson (24) put Kathmandu in a cruising position. At the halfway mark, they were 87/3. What followed was an absolute disaster. In the space of nine deliveries, the Gorkhas lost three wickets, including back-to-back dismissals of Aakash Tripathi and Aadil Alam. Tripathi was caught by Josh Brown when he tried to loft Harmeet (2/21) over long-off. After that, wickets continued to tumble. In the end, they lost by 29 runs. They will reflect on poor shot selection, along with some harsh umpiring decisions that went against them. Without the assistance of modern technology, it is never easy for umpires to decide in a split second. The Gorkhas must have felt hard done, as the rub of the green mostly went the other way in this contest.

Dramatic Start in the First Innings

Josh Brown was trapped lbw by Karan KC on the second ball of the innings. However, the replay showed a thick inside edge onto the pad. Bhandari followed Brown to the pavilion when Sharki took his leading edge. That was a double blow for the Royals and the perfect start for Karan and his side. After being watchful for his first nine deliveries, Chris Lynn attacked KC, but he picked out Milind Kumar at mid-off. More trouble for the Royals — 4/3. Another soft dismissal, this time of Ishan Pandey, meant they were 27/4 in the Powerplay. It was the first time they had lost as many as four wickets in the Powerplay in the NPL. They eventually won the match, becoming only the second side — after Kathmandu Gorkhas — to win despite losing four or more wickets inside the Powerplay.

There were more umpiring errors to follow. Aarif was on 16 when he received a reprieve despite a clear deflection as he tried to cut Sunny Patel. Keeper Simpson and Patel were left stunned when the umpire turned down the appeal. Aarif eventually made 25 before Rashid (2/23) trapped him. Another big moment came when Dipendra Airee was on just 12. Rashid dropped a return catch after both he and Shahab went for it. Airee went on to score 39 and stitched a valuable 61-run stand with Harmeet Singh. The Gorkhas suffered a second drop when Aadil Alam failed to hold onto Naren Saud’s catch at long-off despite a valiant effort. Saud was, however, caught by Sharki on the next ball from Milind Kumar.

At one stage, the Royals were struggling at 80/6 at the end of 15 overs. They would have accepted even 130 at that stage. But Harmeet Singh’s brilliant onslaught, including a 19-ball fifty, lifted them to 147. Harmeet was also dropped on 47 by Sharki at long-on — the third dropped catch of the innings. Singh’s knock included 2 fours and 6 sixes. The 16th over bowled by Milind Kumar went for 21, and Karan KC (4/30) leaked 24 runs in the following over, which included three consecutive sixes struck by Harmeet. It was the most expensive over of this year’s NPL and joint-most in the tournament’s history. It was only the second time a batter hit three consecutive sixes in an NPL over, after Tom Moores took Anil Kharel to the cleaners last year.