SERIES REVIEW
Follow UsIt was a disappointing end to Chitwan Rhinos' Nepal Premier League (NPL) 2024 campaign as they were knocked out by the Karnali Yaks in the Eliminator on December 18 (Wednesday) at the TU Cricket Ground. There were plenty of positives and some drawbacks from the campaign. Let's explore a few of them.
Rhinos unearth a star
Rijan Dhakal had a superb season in the NPL, picking up 13 wickets at an economy of 8.04. There were moments when he even overshadowed a senior pro like Sohail Tanvir. Especially in the powerplay, Dhakal took his game to another level, picking up nine wickets in the phase - the joint-most in the tournament at the time of writing this.
However, he could not step up in the crucial tie against the Karnali Yaks in the Eliminator, where he conceded 44 runs in his four overs.
He has shown enough promise to return to the senior Nepal team. However, it will not be easy to break into a team that has established pacers in Karan KC and Sompal Kami. But Dhakal's left-arm variation could tempt the team management to pick him.
Old is Gold ft. Tanvir & Bopara
The Rhinos heavily relied on senior pros like Sohail Tanvir and Ravi Bopara to take their campaign forward. Tanvir may not have been in the NPL had South African pacer Marchant de Lange been fit. But the veteran left-arm seamer started the tournament off with eight wickets in the first two matches, including a fifer - the first in the tournament. He finished the tournament as Rhinos' leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps at an economy rate of under six.
He formed a formidable partnership with Dhakal, with the duo picking up 18 of the team's 23 wickets in the powerplay.
Bopara, on the other hand, is the leading run-getter in the tournament with 286 runs, which includes three fifities - the most by any player. In fact, he failed to get past 30 just thrice in eight innings.
He tried his best to get his team over the line in the Eliminator, in pursuit of 176, with a 34-ball 53, but in the end the asking rate was way too much. Regardless, the 39-year-old was a valuable addition to the Rhinos team.
Could Kushal Malla have done better?
For someone as young as Kushal Malla, he did a phenomenal job leading the side to the playoffs. This was his first assignment as captain at a senior level, and he started off quite well, guiding the team to three wins in their first four matches.
His scores 11 (11), 13 (16), 23 (27), 38 (23), in those matches did not in any manner show his true potential, but his all-round show against the Janakpur Bolts (72, 2/26) in a must-win match took the Rhinos through to the Eliminator.
Nevertheless, the 20-year-old was outstanding while batting with Bopara, the only set of batters other than Andries Gous-Dinesh Karel to put up over 300 runs together as a pair.
Chasing an issue
There was a massive gap with the Rhinos' batting when they batted second compared to first. They just one of their four matches while chasing, while winning three out of their four games batting first.
That's down to the fact that two of their batting mainstays - Bopara and Malla - did not get a big score. Yes, Bopara hit a fifty in the Eliminator, but other than that, he managed just 43 from three innings, batting second. In his four matches chasing, Malla managed just 77 runs at run-a-ball.
Among Rhinos batters with more than 50 runs in chases, only Amar Routela had a strike rate of 142.5, and by the time he came on to bat, it was too late.
Routela's finishing skills a bonus
Speaking of Routela, he showed off his power-hitting skills down the order, smashing it at a strike rate of close to 150. He had the most runs for the Rhinos in the final phase of the tournament, striking at 170.7.
Can he progress to the Nepal side? With Gulshan Jha the incumbent pace bowling all-rounder in the side, it is going to be tough for Routela to make it to the XI. But his power-hitting could certainly keep the team management interested.
