Kathmandu Gorkhas Beat Karnali Yaks by 4 Wickets — Karan KC's 44 off 20 and a 17-Run 19th Over Chase Down 181

Some chases are a steady climb; this one was a rope pulled hand over hand in the last few overs. Kathmandu Gorkhas chose to field at Kirtipur, watched Karnali Yaks put up 180 for 6, and were 89 for 4 in the 13th over with the asking rate climbing. They needed 37 off the last 19 balls when Rashid Khan fell, 21 off the last 12 when Karan KC followed him, and they still won with two balls to spare.

The man who made it possible was Karan KC: two wickets for 35 with the ball, then 44 off 20 with four fours and three sixes. He and Rashid Khan, who made 50 off 33, added 55 off 26 balls for the fifth wicket, and Jahandad Khan finished the job with 22 not out off 10.

The Gorkhas' chase did not look like a winning one for a long time. David Warner struck three fours in his 16 off 10 before Sompal Kami bowled him in the second over, and Smit Patel was bowled by Nandan Yadav at 28 for 2 in the fifth. Mohammad Aadil Alam's 20 took 27 balls, and when he and Bhim Sharki fell within an over of each other, Kathmandu were 89 for 4 after 12.3 overs, needing 92 from 45 balls.

Rashid Khan and Karan KC then changed the arithmetic. Their 55 came off 26 balls, and in the 17th over Rashid hit Hussain Talat for two fours before he was caught by Sarraf on the fifth ball, having reached 50. KC carried on: in the 18th he took a six and a four off Sompal Kami before he was caught by Ariful Islam off the last ball of the over. At 160 for 6 with 12 balls left, the Gorkhas needed 21.

Pawan Sarraf was given the 19th over, his only one of the match. Jahandad Khan hit his first two balls for six, and Santosh Yadav added a four later in the over; 17 came from it, leaving four needed off the last six. Nandan Yadav's final over went dot, single, single, two, and the Gorkhas were home at 181 for 6.

Karnali's innings had two good passages. Ariful Islam made 44 off 22 with five fours and three sixes and had the Yaks on 66 for 2 when he was caught by Warner off Shahab Alam in the seventh over. Two more wickets fell for 12 runs, and at 78 for 4 after 9.1 overs the Yaks needed a rebuild.

Hussain Talat and Pawan Sarraf provided it, adding 65 off 47 balls before Talat was out hit wicket off Jahandad Khan for 40 on the last ball of the 17th over. Gulsan Jha's 20 off 12 and Sarraf's unbeaten 30 took the total to 180.

With the ball, Mark Watt (4-0-26-1) and Hussain Talat (4-0-32-2) kept the Yaks in it, and Talat took the key wicket of Rashid. But Sompal Kami's four overs cost 44, and with 21 needed off two overs the 19th went for 17. Karnali had the game in hand for most of the afternoon and lost it in the space of six balls.

We do not have a pitch report, so the scorecard has to speak. Totals of 180 and 181 for 6 say this was a good batting surface for the first match of the Kirtipur double-header, and both sides found runs at the death: the Yaks added 37 after their fifth wicket fell at 143, and the Gorkhas scored 37 from the final 17 balls they needed. The economical spells came from Santosh Yadav (2-0-8-1) and Mark Watt (4-0-26-1). The side that chose to field after winning the toss won the game.

Karan KC was part of the story in both innings. With the ball he removed Jishan Alam in the second over and came back to have Gulsan Jha caught by Rashid in the 20th, finishing with 2 for 35. He also caught Deepak Dumre off Santosh Yadav. With the bat he came in at 89 for 4 and scored 44 off 20 balls with four fours and three sixes. He did not see the chase through, but by the time he was out the Gorkhas needed 21 from two overs rather than something closer to impossible.

Our preview called this a fixture that could go either way and did not pick a winner, which a finish with two balls to spare supports. We did suggest that the side batting first might have a marginal advantage with a midday start; Kathmandu won the toss, chose to chase, and won, so that part did not hold. We also wrote that the side that executed best under pressure would come out on top. That was general, but it turned out to be true in the 19th over.

After the November 3 matches, Karnali Yaks are third in the NPL table with four points from three games (two wins, one loss, net run rate +0.295). Kathmandu Gorkhas are seventh with two points from two games (net run rate -0.466). Lumbini Lions lead on five points, and only Pokhara Avengers, on zero, sit below the Gorkhas. With the table this compressed, two points from a win like this matter.