Kathmandu: The second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) T20 cricket tournament began with an upset as defending champions Janakpur Bolts were defeated by Kathmandu Gorkhas by five wickets in the opening match at the Tribhuvan University Ground.

Janakpur, opting to bat first after winning the toss, posted 130 runs for six wickets in their 20 overs. Asif Sheikh top-scored with a fluent 54 off 41 balls, marking the first half-century of the tournament, but the rest of the top order struggled to build partnerships. A 48-run stand between Mayan Yadav (34 off 29) and Lahiru Samarakoon (22 off 21) helped stabilize the innings. Kathmandu’s Milind Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets.

In reply, Kathmandu comfortably chased the target in 18 overs with five wickets in hand. Ben Charlesworth played a quickfire knock of 46 from 23 balls, while Aakash Tripathi contributed 39 off 45 balls. Milind Kumar added 19 runs and John Simpson hit 13 off six balls to seal the win.

Janakpur Bolts are coached by West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul and led by Anil Kumar Sah, with key Nepali players including Asif Sheikh, Lalit Rajbanshi, Kishore Mahato and others, supported by international recruits such as Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton.

Kathmandu Gorkhas, captained by Karan KC and coached by former Nepal head coach Monty Desai, feature Nepali talents like Bhim Sharki, Shahab Alam, Dipesh Kandel and Aakash Tripathi, along with foreign players including John Simpson, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Gerhard Erasmus, Ben Charlesworth and Milind Kumar.