Janakpur Beat Pokhara by 9 Runs as Trit Raj Das Hits 61

Janakpur have climbed to second place. After a day lost to rain on Saturday, Match 9 went ahead in clear conditions at Kirtipur on Sunday, and Janakpur defended 147 for 7 to beat Pokhara by nine runs. Trit Raj Das scored 61 off 55 balls against his former franchise, and Moeen Ali took three wickets for 13 runs as Pokhara closed on 138 for 9. Janakpur now have four points from three matches, while Pokhara remain without a win after two games.

Das anchors Janakpur to 147

Janakpur were put in to bat after Pokhara won the toss, and Trit Raj Das held the innings together from the start. Das opened with Moeen Ali in a 47-run opening stand, then kept going through four more partnerships, reaching his fifty off 49 balls and finishing with 61 off 55 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. Das was dismissed with the score on 117 for 5, caught by Kushal Bhurtel off Mahedi Hasan.

Moeen scored 21 off 16 balls before Shakib Al Hasan bowled him, and no other Janakpur batter passed 24. Abhisekh Tiwari finished unbeaten on 24 off 10 balls, with one four and two sixes, and his late hitting lifted Janakpur from 117 for 5 to 147 for 7. James Neesham scored 11 off 11 balls, while captain Harmeet Singh made 9 off 8 balls and Anil Sah made 9 off 9 balls.

Shakib was Pokhara’s best bowler, taking three wickets for 15 runs in four overs. Mahedi Hasan took one wicket for 24 runs in four overs, including a maiden, and Chamika Karunaratne took two wickets for 23 runs in three overs. Mohammad Saifuddin took one wicket for 17 runs in his single over, while Bhurtel bowled four overs for 24 runs without a wicket.

Das played for Pokhara in the 2025 season, so his match-winning innings came against his former franchise. Janakpur’s total of 147 looked modest at the halfway stage, but on a slow Kirtipur surface it proved enough.

Moeen’s 3 for 13 breaks the chase

Pokhara’s chase started badly and never recovered. Moeen removed both openers, stumping Dinesh Kharel for 3 off 9 balls and having Mahedi Hasan caught for 8 off 4 balls, and Pokhara were 25 for 2 when Kharel fell. Bhurtel top-scored with 35 off 24 balls, including five fours, but his dismissal at 53 for 3 in the seventh over left Pokhara chasing the game.

Shakib scored 9 off 17 balls and Arjun Gharti scored 7 off 15 balls as Saif Hassan removed both, and Pokhara slipped from 83 for 4 to 87 for 7 in the space of six balls. Kiran Thagunna hit 15 off 5 balls, including two fours and a six, before Harmeet Singh trapped him leg before, and Mohammad Saifuddin fell for a duck to Moeen in the same collapse. Chamika Karunaratne scored 4 off 11 balls before Harmeet caught and bowled him.

Moeen finished with three wickets for 13 runs in four overs, including a maiden, while Harmeet took two wickets for 20 runs in four overs and Saif Hassan took two wickets for 36 runs in four overs. Lalit Rajbanshi took the wicket of Bhurtel and finished with one wicket for 26 runs in four overs.

Late hitting falls short

Bipin Acharya gave Pokhara late hope with 20 off 19 balls, including one four, and his stand with Bipin Khatri took Pokhara from 110 for 8 to 132 for 9. Acharya was caught by Rahul Yadav off Neesham in the 19.3rd over, and the last pair added six runs as Pokhara closed on 138 for 9. Khatri finished unbeaten on 17 off 14 balls.

Pokhara needed 148 to win and fell nine runs short, with their middle-order collapse proving decisive. Janakpur’s bowlers held their nerve in the final overs, and Neesham’s closing over sealed a second straight win for the Bolts. Janakpur had lost their opener to Karnali by 19 runs, then beaten Kathmandu by eight wickets, and the nine-run win over Pokhara makes it two wins in a row.

Second place for Janakpur, second defeat for Pokhara

Janakpur move to second place with four points from three matches, behind Karnali on net run rate. Karnali also have four points, while Lumbini and Chitwan have three points each, and Biratnagar and Sudurpaschim have two points each. Pokhara sit seventh with no points from two matches, ahead of Kathmandu only on net run rate, and their season now needs wins quickly.

Janakpur also lead the head-to-head against Pokhara 2-1 now, after the two sides split their first two meetings. Janakpur won the first meeting in the 2024 season by seven wickets, Pokhara won the 2025 meeting by 25 runs, and Janakpur have taken the first meeting of the 2026 season by nine runs.

Pokhara face Lumbini on 3 November, while Janakpur face Chitwan on 13 November. For Pokhara, the Lumbini game is already close to must-win, with two defeats banked and the playoff race taking shape around them.