The highest-scoring match of the season so far ended with one ball to spare. Karnali Yaks chased down 187 to beat Biratnagar Kings by four wickets at TU Ground, Kirtipur, on the evening of Thursday, 29 October 2026, reaching 187 for 6 in 19.5 overs after Biratnagar had posted 186 for 7. Captain Sompal Kami was Player of the Match with an unbeaten 62 off 32 balls and four wickets for 33 runs, while Lokesh Bam’s 87 off 52 balls for Biratnagar ended in a losing cause. It was the second game of Thursday’s double-header, and it left Karnali as the season’s sole leaders.
| Result | Karnali Yaks won by 4 wickets, 1 ball remaining |
| Scores | Biratnagar 186/7 (20 ov); Karnali 187/6 (19.5 ov) |
| Best batting | Lokesh Bam, 87 off 52 balls; Sompal Kami, 62 not out off 32 balls |
| Best bowling | Sompal Kami, 4 for 33 (Player of the Match) |
| Venue | TU Ground, Kirtipur — Thursday, 29 October 2026, 5:00 PM NST |
| Next matches | Biratnagar vs Sudurpaschim, 31 Oct 5:00 PM NST; Karnali vs Kathmandu, 2 Nov 12:30 PM NST |
Bam’s 87 sets 186
Biratnagar’s innings was built around one man. Lokesh Bam scored 87 off 52 balls, with three fours and nine sixes, and the Kings reached 186 for 7 in 20 overs. Angelo Mathews made 31 off 23 balls in a 71-run fourth-wicket stand with Bam, Andre Russell hit 27 off 15, Basir Ahamad made 13 off 7, and Naren Jayasuriya was run out for 11 off 10. Nine extras helped the total along.
Sompal Kami led Karnali’s bowling with four wickets for 33 runs, Mark Watt took one for 23 including a maiden over, and Nandan Yadav took one for 43. It was a strong total on any reading — and for most of the chase, it looked like a winning one.
Karnali’s chase falls apart, then rebuilds
Karnali’s chase collapsed in stages. The Yaks fell to 11 for 1, 38 for 2, 45 for 3, 54 for 4, and 57 for 5, and when the sixth wicket fell at 123, Biratnagar were in control. Then the rebuild began. Sarraf made 36 off 28 balls in a 66-run sixth-wicket stand with Sompal, Ariful Islam hit 32 off 12, and Pawan Dumre made 20 off 11.
The decisive partnership was the last one. Gulshan Jha, unbeaten on 28 off 21 balls, put together an unbroken 64-run seventh-wicket stand with Sompal that carried Karnali from trouble to the brink of victory. When the final over began, Karnali needed eight runs.
One ball left: the final over
Sandeep Lamichhane bowled the final over with eight runs to defend, and it came down to the last ball. The over went one run, two runs, one run — then Lokesh Bam dropped Gulshan Jha, and an extra run came off a Bam mistake. Sompal finished it with two runs, then two more, and Karnali reached 187 for 6 in 19.5 overs with one ball unused.
Afterwards, Sompal said he had stayed confident even when the equation read 17 or 18 runs from the final six balls, and called Gulshan one of Nepal’s best T20 players. The two have been roommates for five years, and it showed in the running between the wickets. Mathews, on the other side, pointed to Biratnagar’s fielding, saying it was weak and that catches win matches. The dropped catch in the final over proved him right.
Sole leaders, and a winless Biratnagar
The win took Karnali to two wins from two matches and four points, making them the sole leaders of the early table with a net run rate of +0.533. No other side had four points after six matches. Biratnagar, meanwhile, fell to two defeats from two matches and sixth place, with a net run rate of −0.261 — a side with Russell, Mathews and Sandeep still waiting for its first win.
Neither side waits long for the next test. Biratnagar face Sudurpaschim Royals in Saturday’s evening game on 31 October at 5:00 PM NST, while Karnali meet Kathmandu Gorkhas on 2 November at 12:30 PM NST, both at Kirtipur.
Karnali Yaks, by four wickets. Biratnagar made 186 for 7 in 20 overs and Karnali reached 187 for 6 in 19.5 overs at TU Ground, Kirtipur, on 29 October 2026, with one ball to spare.
Sompal Kami was Player of the Match with an unbeaten 62 off 32 balls plus four wickets for 33 runs. Lokesh Bam scored 87 off 52 balls for Biratnagar, and Gulshan Jha finished unbeaten on 28 off 21 balls for Karnali.
With eight runs needed off Sandeep Lamichhane, the over went one, two, one, then a dropped catch by Lokesh Bam and an extra run off a Bam mistake, before Sompal finished with two runs and two more to win with one ball left.
Biratnagar meet Sudurpaschim on 31 October at 5:00 PM NST, and Karnali meet Kathmandu on 2 November at 12:30 PM NST, both at Kirtipur.
