Kathmandu. Sudurpaschim Royals defeated Chitwan Rhinos by five wickets in the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL). This is their second win in this tournament.

Earlier, Sudurpaschim had defeated Pokhara Avengers in the second match. In today’s match, Sudurpaschim achieved the target of 130 runs set by Chitwan in 16.4 overs with the loss of five wickets.

Brendan McMullen scored 43 runs in 21 balls with six fours and two sixes. Ishan Pandey scored 21 runs and Binod Bhandari scored 11 runs. Sherfan Rutherford scored 21 runs and Aarif Sheikh scored 20 runs.

For Chitwan, Ranjit Kumar took three wickets for 28 runs in four overs. Mausam Dhakal and Rijan Dhakal took ÷one wicket each. Earlier, Chitwan, who got a chance to bat first after losing the toss, scored 129 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs at the Tribhuvan International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.

Ravi Bopara scored 49 runs off 40 balls with three fours and two sixes. Dawid Malan scored 16 runs, Sikandar Raja and Arjun Saud scored 15÷15 runs each and Vivek Kumar Yadav scored 17 runs.

Scott Kugglin took two wickets while skipper Dipendra Singh Airee and Anil Kharel took one ÷wicket each. In the first match played today, Kathmandu Gorkhas registered a four-wicket win against Karnali Yaks.