Lumbini Lions captain Rohit Paudel described his side's journey to the NPL Season 2 final as a "suspense movie" after they completed a remarkable comeback from three consecutive losses to win five on the bounce and book a showdown with Sudurpaschim Royals.
"We started with a win and then lost three in a row, so naturally everyone was a bit down," Paudel reflected. "Turning the table from there shows the capacity of this team to play under pressure. The way the boys have responded in the last five games has been outstanding."
Paudel said one of the keys to Lumbini's revival has been the balance between Nepali and overseas players and how quickly the group has gelled. He singled out D'Arcy Short, JJ Smit and Ruben Trumpelmann alongside the local core. "The foreign players have fitted in perfectly, the Nepali players have stood up, and in a short time we've built a proper family environment," he said.
Facing a star-studded Biratnagar Kings line-up featuring Faf du Plessis, Martin Guptill and Sandeep Lamichhane, Paudel admitted the names on paper were intimidating but insisted Lumbini never doubted their ability. "On the team sheet they looked like a Bollywood team," he joked. "But as a group we believed that if we played our best cricket we could beat them. We backed our spin attack and our bowlers delivered."
Paudel called Ruben Trumpelmann's double strike in the first over and Sher Malla's dismissal of du Plessis the turning point of Qualifier 2. "Nine balls, six runs and three wickets – that changed the game," he said. "If you're chasing 135 in a qualifier and lose three in the powerplay, the pressure comes straight back on you. Our plan was simple: bowl dots, build pressure and force mistakes."
The captain reserved special praise for Sher Malla, who he believes has emerged as one of the stories of the tournament. He also highlighted the consistency of Tilak Bhandari and Abhishesh Gautam in the spin department and the new-ball work of Trumpelmann and Smit. "Sher has bowled brilliantly throughout, Tilak has been excellent and Abhishesh has backed them up. Our spin attack has really carried us on these wickets," Paudel noted, adding that Sher's progress as Nepal's T20I captain and a "mystery spinner" made his future "very bright".
Looking ahead to the final against Sudurpaschim Royals and rival skipper Dipendra Singh Airee, Paudel said his side's recent run of must-win matches had hardened them for the biggest game of the season. "The last four or five games have all been pressure situations and we've handled them well," he said. "We've got momentum, we're calm under pressure and the focus now is only on the trophy. Personal milestones can wait – what matters is that Lumbini Lions finish this story the right way in the final."
