Three Defeats in a Row for Karnali, a Wake-Up Call for Lumbini: Thursday Evening at Kirtipur

Lumbini Lions are second, with seven points from five games (three wins, one defeat and one washout) and the best net run rate in the league, +1.501. They bowled Sudurpaschim out for 87, held Pokhara to 97 for 9 and beat Janakpur by 16 runs. Then, on Saturday, Kathmandu bowled them out for 124 and won by 36. Karnali Yaks are seventh, on four points. They beat Janakpur and Biratnagar in their first two games, but have lost to Kathmandu by four wickets, to Sudurpaschim by 39 runs, when David Miller's 93 not out was not enough, and to Pokhara by 63 runs on Monday. With two league games left, Karnali probably need to win both.

Most evening totals at Kirtipur this season have stayed between 120 and 180, and a game where every run counts suits Lumbini's bowling. Ruben Trumpelmann took 3 for 16 against Pokhara, and D'Arcy Short 3 for 23 against Janakpur. Their batting has leaned on Rohit Paudel, who made 47 not out and 38 in two of the wins. Karnali's batting has more power than their results show: Sompal Kami made 62 not out off 32 to beat Biratnagar, and Miller can win a game on his own. But they gave away 217 on Monday, and their bowling will need to be much better. Around 150 may be a good score here.

A possible Yaks XI, based on Monday's side: Ariful Islam, Jishan Alam, Mark Watt, D Dumre, David Miller, P Sarraf, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, NK Yadav, Surya Tamang, Y Khatri. A possible Lions XI, based on Saturday's side: D'Arcy Short, Aasif Sheikh, Niroshan Dickwella, Rohit Paudel, S Jora, D Nath, G Stewart, Ruben Trumpelmann, Abhishesh Gautam, S Malla, TR Bhandari. Either side may make changes after a defeat.