RECAP
Follow UsAfter back to back wins, the Chitwan Rhinos experienced defeat for the first time in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2024 against the Karnali Yaks on December 6. It was the Yaks' first win in the competition.
Despite the result, the Rhinos are still well-placed at the third position on the points table. Here’s how the game panned out.
Rhinos continue to struggle in powerplay
After being put to bat against Yaks, Rhinos again showed vulnerability at the top of the order, being reduced to 22/3. Luc Benkenstein, in his first clash as an opener, failed with a five-ball duck. Neither could Deepak Bohara (8) nor Bipin Rawal (11) make any impact.
Ravi Bopara with another rescue act
At 22/3, the ball is moving hoops with Rhinos under immense pressure. What does a 39-year-old Ravi Bopara do? Save the Rhinos with a stellar rescue act, scoring a 40-ball 59, a knock in which he took his odds against the off-spinners—William Bosisto and Unish Singh.
Despite wickets falling consistently at the other end, Bopara ensured he took the Rhinos to 130.
A tough beginning for Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton might have replaced Hassan Eisakhil in the playing XI but couldn’t have any impact on the game. The left-hander, who walked in at 82/4, had the perfect platform to tee off and take the Rhinos to a very good total.
However, the left-hander was scratchy (9 off 12) and could only hit one boundary at a venue where he had scored his fastest T20I century.
Rare failure for Tanvir-Dhakal
Across their first two wins, the Chitwan side depended solely on the duo of Sohail Tanvir and Rijan Dhakal for success in the powerplay. After a stunning show in the win against Pokhara Avengers, where they picked up six wickets in the powerplay, the duo failed to put pressure on the Yaks.
It was the first wicketless powerplay of NPL 2024, as Shikhar Dhawan and Dev Khanal put on a 50-run partnership.
Late Rhinos’ fightback ends in a loss
At 104/1, it seemed like the Karnali Yaks would win easily, but the Rhinos showed their fighting spirit. Loftie-Eaton’s struck to remove Dhawan and it triggered a mini-collapse, with Chadwick Walton and Arjun Gharti too departing soon after. At that point, Yaks needed nine runs off the last over.
But as was the pattern during the first innings, it was a flurry of twos at the end that took the game to the penultimate delivery, where the Yaks needed three runs off two balls. Experienced Zeeshan Maqsood finished the game with a ball to spare.
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