The Lumbini Lions are still searching for their first win of the competition after waiting four days to play their opening match. Now, they face one of the two unbeaten sides in the tournament—a tough fixture by any measure. While Lumbini’s batting has been decent in both games, their bowling has been a glaring weakness, particularly in the absence of Ben Cutting’s services. The Lions have lost both matches while defending totals, with the second defeat being especially demoralizing—a crushing 10-wicket loss to the Pokhara Avengers.
Adding to their woes, their premier spinner Surya Tamang has gone wicketless in both games, even as other left-arm spinners have been making a mark in the tournament. This is a significant concern for the Lions as they look to turn their fortunes around.
On the other hand, the Sudurpaschim Royals have been flawless in their two outings so far. Batting first in both matches, they posted scores exceeding 160 and bowled out their opponents for under 100—a remarkable display of dominance. Alongside the Janakpur Bolts, the Royals are emerging as the team to beat this season.
Binod Bhandari has shown promise with his starts, scoring in the 20s and 30s, but the Royals will hope he converts those into bigger contributions as the tournament progresses. Meanwhile, Abinash Bohara has been impressive, taking five wickets in two games and keeping things tight in the middle overs. Youngster Naren Saud announced his arrival in style, claiming a brilliant five-wicket haul in the opening game against the Kathmandu Gurkhas, further bolstering the Royals’ bowling attack.
Probable Playing XI of Lumbini Lions
Aashutosh Ghiraiya/ Arjun Saud
Unmukt Chand †
Rohit Kumar Paudel
Tom Moores
Sundeep Jora
Dinesh Adhikari
Bibek Yadav
Saad Bin Zafar
Surya Tamang
Durgesh Gupta
Ramon Simmonds
Probable Playing XI of Sudurpaschim Royals
Saif Zaib
Binod Bhandari (WK)
Brandon McMullen
Dipendra Singh Airee (c)
Rohan Mustafa
Naresh Budhayer
Ishan Pandey
Md Aarif Sheikh
Abinash Bohara
Scott Kuggeleijn
Naren Saud
