Biratnagar hit 105 in five overs to beat Sudurpaschim after rain and safety dispute

A late start, a huge total and a first win

Biratnagar Kings struck 11 sixes and five fours in just five overs to score 105/2 and defeat Sudurpaschim Royals by 35 runs at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Saturday night. The victory gave Biratnagar their first two points after defeats in their opening two Nepal Premier League matches.

Shehan Jayasuriya led the attack with 39 from 11 balls, while Andre Russell followed an unbeaten 29 with bowling figures of one wicket for eight runs from two overs. Sudurpaschim finished on 70/3 after losing Sherfane Rutherford to the first ball of their chase.

Biratnagar's total exceeded the earlier five over T20 mark of 96/1 made by Colombo Kings against Galle Gladiators in the 2020 Lanka Premier League. Their scoring rate of 21 runs per over turned a match threatened by rain into an unusually concentrated burst of hitting.

The result followed hours of uncertainty over a wet outfield. Sudurpaschim initially declined to play because of concerns about player safety, while ground staff worked to prepare the venue. Discussions involving Cricket Association of Nepal secretary Paras Khadka, team representatives and match officials eventually brought agreement to proceed.

The match, originally scheduled for 5 pm, began at about 9:20 pm with each innings reduced from 20 overs to five. Thousands of spectators stayed through the delay, in temperatures reported at around 13 to 15 degrees Celsius.

How the evening slipped behind schedule

Saturday afternoon sunshine gave ground staff an opportunity to work on the waterlogged venue after persistent rain. Preparing the outfield, the grass surrounding the central pitch, remained the main obstacle to starting play.

Several proposed times passed before the teams took the field. The evening's sequence shows how the delay moved from ground preparation to discussions over whether the match should proceed:

• 5 pm: The original scheduled start passed with the ground affected by rain.
• 7:25 pm: A proposed toss time was subsequently moved to 7:35 pm.
• Around 7:40 pm: A revised plan for a shortened match stalled because Sudurpaschim remained concerned about the outfield.
• Around 9 pm: The toss took place after further discussions. Sudurpaschim captain Dipendra Singh Airee chose to bowl.
• About 9:20 pm: Play began, more than four hours after the original start time.

Umpires inspected the ground before the shortened contest. Preparations also included bringing in the boundary near the Red Bull zone and using the second pitch toward the scoreboard side. Those changes formed part of the conditions in which Biratnagar launched their attack.

Why Sudurpaschim objected

Sudurpaschim chief executive Prakash Khadka said the outfield remained wet and raised the risk of players getting injured. He also questioned who would take responsibility for injuries and objected to the smaller boundary.

Sudurpaschim initially stayed away from the toss, arguing that both teams needed to be ready before the game could go ahead. Paras Khadka and other officials then held discussions with the franchise's representatives before an agreement was reached.

The precise boundary measurements and the detailed technical basis for the final decision to play were not disclosed. Those details matter because the dispute concerned both the conditions underfoot and the dimensions of the playing area.

Biratnagar captain Sandeep Lamichhane said his domestic and overseas players were ready to compete, while accepting that the final decision belonged to the organisers and match officials. His position combined a desire to play with recognition that the players were not responsible for authorising the start.

Jayasuriya and Bam made every over count

Jayasuriya and Lokesh Bam put on 68 for the first wicket in 16 balls. In cricket notation, that is 2.4 overs: two complete overs of six legal deliveries, followed by four more balls.

Jayasuriya hit five sixes and two fours in his 39. Those boundary shots alone produced 38 runs, leaving just one run from another scoring stroke. His innings showed how directly Biratnagar approached the shortened format, attacking almost immediately rather than spending time settling in.

Bam contributed 25 from 10 balls, including three sixes and a four, according to the detailed innings account. Some match summaries instead listed him on 29, including as unbeaten; the detailed account recorded his dismissal from the final ball.

Avinash Bohara removed Jayasuriya at 2.4 overs, but Russell maintained the pace. Russell and Bam added another 37 in the remaining 14 balls, carrying Biratnagar from 68 to 105.

Russell finished unbeaten on 29 from 10 balls, with three sixes and two fours. Bohara took both wickets and conceded 28 runs from two overs. Tharindu Ratnayake conceded 31 in one over, while Hemant Dhami's single over cost 25.

What made 105 such an exceptional score

Biratnagar's 105 was nine runs higher than Colombo Kings' 96/1 in a match reduced to five overs in 2020. Before Colombo's innings, Titans had scored 80/2 against Warriors in South Africa's T20 competition in 2016.

The comparison concerns completed innings in matches shortened to five overs. A normal T20 innings allows up to 20 overs, or 120 legal deliveries; this match allowed each team only 30. Biratnagar used that much smaller allocation to pass 100.

Their 11 sixes contributed 66 runs and five fours supplied another 20. Together, boundaries accounted for 86 of the team's 105 runs, about 82 percent. That concentration of boundary scoring explains how the total grew so quickly.

Lamichhane said Biratnagar had deliberately targeted more than 100 because the team had players capable of batting down to number 10. The plan depended on attacking early, knowing there was considerable batting depth if wickets fell.

Russell put the chase under pressure immediately

Sudurpaschim needed 106 from 30 legal deliveries, a required rate of 21.2 runs per over. Russell bowled Rutherford with the first ball, removing an opener before the Royals had scored.

Airee then fell for one, caught by Rupesh Singh off Angelo Mathews. Sudurpaschim were 7/2 after the opening nine balls, leaving them needing 99 from the remaining 21 deliveries. The required rate had already climbed to more than 28 runs per over.

Saif Zaib made 17 from 10 balls, while Scott Kuggeleijn and Aarif Sheikh provided a late burst. Kuggeleijn finished unbeaten on 28, including four sixes and a four, and Sheikh was unbeaten on 17 from eight balls.

Kuggeleijn's innings was listed as six balls in the detailed match narrative and seven in other summaries. Sudurpaschim's final score was also listed as 70/2 in some summaries, while the detailed account recorded 70/3, with Russell, Mathews and Singh taking one wicket each.

Russell's two overs cost only eight runs, a rate of four per over in a chase that began with more than 21 required. Sudurpaschim scored 62 from the other three overs, but Russell's control and the early wickets left too much ground to recover. He also contributed a catch.

Two points changed Biratnagar's start

Biratnagar entered the match without a point after losing to Chitwan Rhinos and Karnali Yaks. Victory in their third match moved them to two points and ended that opening losing run.

Sudurpaschim also had two points from three matches after the defeat. They had lost to Lumbini Lions before beating Pokhara Avengers. Both teams therefore finished the evening with one win and two losses.

Rain had already caused the abandonment of the day's earlier fixture. The teams were identified as Lumbini and Chitwan in the initial match account, while another result summary named Lumbini and Kathmandu Gorkhas and recorded one point for each side.

For Biratnagar, the immediate gain was a completed match and a first victory. Their top three supplied the attacking start Lamichhane wanted, and their bowlers then defended it despite late hitting from Sudurpaschim.

Spectators and ground staff stayed central to the story

Lamichhane said the spectators who remained from the afternoon into the late evening, along with the ground staff who kept working on the venue, deserved recognition. He also said any attempt to reschedule would depend partly on player availability.

Biratnagar Kings acknowledged their supporters in a Facebook message shortly before the match, thanking them for staying with the team regardless of the result:

Win or lose, your support will never go unnoticed.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah also commented on social media, saying he found the five over format entertaining. His reaction reflected the spectacle produced by a match in which Biratnagar struck a boundary, on average, more often than once every two legal deliveries.

Sudurpaschim's objections and Biratnagar's willingness to play remained different parts of the same evening. The agreement allowed the contest to finish, while the concerns raised by Prakash Khadka placed the handling of wet ground conditions at the centre of the discussion surrounding the result.

Key Points

• Biratnagar Kings scored 105/2 in five overs and beat Sudurpaschim Royals by 35 runs.
• The total surpassed Colombo Kings' five over score of 96/1 from the 2020 Lanka Premier League.
• Shehan Jayasuriya made 39 from 11 balls, and Andre Russell contributed an unbeaten 29.
• Russell then took one wicket for eight runs from two overs as Sudurpaschim finished on 70/3.
• Play began at about 9:20 pm after rain, ground preparation and discussions over Sudurpaschim's safety concerns.
• Biratnagar earned their first win and first two points from three matches.