Sudurpaschim Royals endured a nightmare outing with the bat in the Nepal Premier League Season 2 final, skittled for just 85 in 19.1 overs after opting to bat first against Lumbini Lions in Kirtipur.
Without the explosive presence of Chris Lynn and Josh Brown at the top of the order, Royals' line-up looked thin on power, and Lumbini’s varied attack exposed that vulnerability ruthlessly.
The innings never really recovered from an early jolt. Royal's highest run-scorer this season, Binod Bhandari, fell for a duck in the opening over, and Sheldon Jackson followed soon after, leaving Royals wobbling at 7/2. Opener Ishan Pandey dug in for a fighting 33 off 51 balls, and skipper Dipendra Singh Airee tried to stabilise the innings with 13 off 20, but scoring was painstakingly slow on a surface offering just enough for the bowlers. At 3/19 and later 3/44, Royals were still in the game, but they needed one substantial partnership to launch a competitive total.
Instead, the game flipped decisively in the 11th over. Lumbini captain Rohit Paudel produced a sensational spell, removing Dipendra, Dipak Bohara and Puneet Mehra in three consecutive deliveries to claim a hat-trick – his second of the season. In the space of six balls, Royals crumbled from 44/3 to 44/6, and any hopes of pushing towards 130–140 evaporated. It was the defining passage of the innings and, arguably, of the final.
From there, it was a slow slide to an under-par total. Harmeet Singh's brief 10 off 11 and a late 7 from Hemant Dhami could not lift the scoring rate, while lower-order hitters Scott Kuggeleijn and Abinash Bohara managed only 10 and 1 respectively.
Lumbini's bowlers kept the choke on throughout: Ruben Trumpelmann struck early and late for figures of 3/3 in 2.1 overs, Sher Malla delivered another big-match performance with 3/18 from 4, and Abhishesh Gautam supported with a tidy 2/15. Paudel completed a captain’s spell of 3/12 in 4 overs, headlined by that pivotal hat-trick.
By the time Royals were bowled out for 85, Lumbini's decision to field first had been thoroughly vindicated. In contrast, Sudurpaschim’s choice to bat first in helpful bowling conditions – without marquee hitters like Lynn and Brown to set the tone – proved a costly misjudgement, leaving their bowlers with far too little to defend in the title decider.
