Kathmandu vs Janakpur Head to Head: Bolts Lead 2-1

Kathmandu against Janakpur has never produced a first-innings win. All three meetings have been won by the chasing side, all three by wickets, and the lead has changed hands twice — Janakpur won the Season 1 meeting, Kathmandu answered in Season 2, and Janakpur took the lead back in Season 3 with an eight-wicket win in Match 5. Janakpur arrive as the league’s first champions, Kathmandu as the side still chasing a first final, and their round-robin meeting for this season is already done, so a fourth meeting can only come in the playoffs.

Three meetings, three chases

Janakpur struck first in Season 1, on 12 December 2024, bowling Kathmandu out for 101 in 19.3 overs and chasing 104 for 5 in 15.5 overs to win by five wickets. Kathmandu answered in Season 2, on 17 November 2025, chasing Janakpur’s 130 for 6 with 131 for 5 in 18 overs to win by five wickets again. Season 3 tilted the rivalry back on 29 October 2026, when Janakpur chased Kathmandu’s 115 with 116 for 2 in 17.2 overs to win by eight wickets.

First champions against first-final chasers

Janakpur’s side of the rivalry carries the league’s first trophy. They won Season 1, beating Sudurpaschim by five wickets in the final, then endured a disappointing Season 2 at the bottom of the standings before rebuilding around captain Harmeet Singh and coach Shivnarine Chanderpaul for Season 3. Their two wins over Kathmandu bookend that story — the first in their title season, the second in their comeback season.

Kathmandu’s side carries the opposite story. They finished third in the Season 2 league stage with ten points but fourth overall after losing the Eliminator, and they have never reached an NPL final. Captain Karan KC has led the side in all three seasons and leads Kathmandu’s wicket charts with 25 NPL wickets, while coach Monty Desai shapes a side built around its bowling. Kathmandu’s one win in this fixture, the five-wicket chase in Season 2, remains their only head-to-head success against the Bolts.

How Match 5 tilted it

Match 5 followed the rivalry’s chasing pattern to the letter. Kathmandu, batting first after winning the toss, were bowled out for 115 in 19.3 overs, with Bhim Sharki’s 33 the top score and Rahul Yadav taking four for 31 for Janakpur. Moeen Ali’s unbeaten 58 off 51 balls and Saif Hassan’s unbeaten 40 on debut carried Janakpur home with an unbroken 79-run stand, sealing the eight-wicket win with 16 balls to spare.

Kathmandu’s defeat was their first match and first loss of Season 3, played without the signed David Warner, who had not arrived, and with Jimmy Neesham benched by Janakpur on the other side. Janakpur’s win was their first of the season after losing their opener to Karnali by 19 runs, and it lifted them to fourth after six matches, while Kathmandu sat seventh. Moeen’s departure window (Match 12 or Match 14, depending on which report fans read) means Janakpur’s next meetings will test a side without the batter who tilted this one.

Only the playoffs can bring a fourth meeting

Round-robin rules mean Kathmandu and Janakpur will not meet again in the league stage — their Season 3 fixture is done, settled in Janakpur’s favour on 29 October. A fourth meeting needs both sides in the top four when the league stage ends on 15 November, with the playoffs running from 17 November to the final on 21 November, all at TU Ground.

Janakpur’s remaining league matches include Pokhara on Sunday and Biratnagar on Tuesday, while Kathmandu face Karnali on Monday in the camp-hinted window for Warner’s possible arrival. If the two rivals meet again, it will be with a final place on the line — and Kathmandu will be chasing both a first final and a first head-to-head lead over Janakpur.