Lumbini vs Chitwan Match 7 Preview: Champions vs Rhinos

Two unbeaten sides meet in the first game of Saturday’s double-header. Defending champions Lumbini Lions face Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Season 3 Match 7 at TU Ground, Kirtipur, on Saturday, 31 October 2026, starting at 12:30 PM NST. Both sides won their openers (Lumbini hammered Sudurpaschim inside ten overs, Chitwan defended 157 against Biratnagar), and the winner today goes to four points and a share of the early lead. It is the first of two matches at Kirtipur today, with Sudurpaschim against Biratnagar to follow at 5:00 PM NST.

Match	Lumbini Lions vs Chitwan Rhinos, NPL Season 3 Match 7
Date and time	Saturday, 31 October 2026, 12:30 PM NST
Venue	TU Ground, Kirtipur
Captains	Rohit Kumar Paudel (Lumbini) and Kushal Malla (Chitwan)
Head coaches	Tinu Yohannan (Lumbini) and Sohail Tanvir (Chitwan)
Watch	NetTV worldwide, Himalaya TV in Nepal
Second game today	Sudurpaschim vs Biratnagar, 5:00 PM NST

Champions with a perfect start

Lumbini could hardly have asked for a better opening day. The defending champions bowled Sudurpaschim out for 87 in Match 1 and chased 88 for 3 in just 9.5 overs, winning by seven wickets with 61 balls to spare. D’Arcy Short hit 40 off 18 balls, Aasif Sheikh made 32 off 25 in a 71-run stand with Short, Kishor Mahato took four wickets for 22 runs, and Sher Malla’s three for 11 won him Player of the Match.

Captain Rohit Kumar Paudel leads the side, with Tinu Yohannan as head coach, and the players to watch today are Ruben Trumpelmann and Niroshan Dickwella. Lumbini sit on two points with a net run rate of +4.599, the best in the league after the first round of matches, and a second win today would put real distance between the champions and the chasing pack.

Rhinos with momentum of their own

Chitwan will not be overawed by the champions. The Rhinos opened with an eight-run win over Biratnagar in Match 2, defending 157 for 3 as Biratnagar were bowled out for 149 in 19.3 overs. Dawid Malan scored 70 off 50 balls, and Kamal Singh Airee took four wickets for 26 runs to win Player of the Match.

Captain Kushal Malla leads Chitwan, with Sohail Tanvir as head coach, and the players to watch are Ravi Bopara, Sikandar Raza and Kaleem Sana. Chitwan also sit on two points, with a net run rate of +0.400, and they have already shown they can defend a total under pressure. Against a Lumbini side that chases as well as anyone in the league, that defence will be tested from the first over.

Rain, and what to watch

One shadow hangs over the day game. Rain has fallen in Kathmandu since late Thursday night, and as of Friday evening no postponement had been announced for Saturday’s matches, despite a high rain chance forecast for Saturday daytime. The day game is the most exposed of the two, with conditions expected to ease from Saturday afternoon. There are no reserve days in the league stage, so an abandoned match would give each side one point.

Beyond the weather, the contest itself has plenty to watch: Lumbini’s powerplay hitting against Chitwan’s new-ball attack, Malan’s form against a bowling unit that shared nine wickets in the opener, and two captains — Paudel and Malla — who both opened their seasons with wins. The second game of the double-header, Sudurpaschim against Biratnagar, follows at 5:00 PM NST at the same ground.

How to watch

NetTV streams the match worldwide, and Himalaya TV broadcasts it in Nepal. In India, Star Sports carries it on television and FanCode streams it. Tickets for the double-header are sold through eSewa, the league’s exclusive ticketing partner, with General tickets at NPR 500 and Premium at NPR 1,000. All 28 league-stage matches of Season 3 are played at TU Ground, Kirtipur, so today’s double-header is a full day at one venue.