Biratnagar Kings managed to post only 128 runs against Janakpur Bolts in the opening match of the Nepal Premier League on Saturday, November 30.
Apart from New Zealander Martin Guptill and Oman's Aqib Ilyas, no other batter reached double figures. The Kings' innings collapsed after Guptill, who scored a half-century, was dismissed. He reached 50 with a six but was caught at mid-on while attempting another shot off Harsh Thaker.
When Guptill departed for 55 off 43 balls, the Kings were 96/4 at the end of the 14th over. The collapse continued, with the team losing half their side for just 100 runs in 15.3 overs. Rajesh Pulami Magar faced 6 balls, scoring just 1 run.
In a spin-dominated attack, Lalit Rajbanshi led with 3 wickets, while Kishore Mahato and Harsh Thaker took 2 wickets each. Ben Mike and Mohammad Mohsin Khan also claimed a wicket each.
Rajbanshi struck in the first ball of the second over to send Lokesh Bam back to the pavilion. Mohsin then dismissed Aqib Ilyas in the 9th over, with Ilyas making 15 runs off 18 balls.
At the halfway mark, the Kings had scored 65 runs for the loss of two wickets. However, when Nicholas Kirton departed on the last ball of the 12th over, the Kings had made only 82 runs in 12.1 overs.
The Kings' woes deepened as Sandeep Lamichhane and Jitendra Mukhiya were dismissed on consecutive balls in the 18th over. Chris Sole, the final batter, made 4 runs off 5 balls.
The Bolts won the toss and elected to bowl.
