Janakpur Bolts vs Pokhara Avengers: NPL 2026 Match 9 Report

Updated Mon, 2 Nov 2026

Janakpur Bolts defended 147 for 7 to beat Pokhara Avengers by nine runs in Match 9 of NPL 2026 at Kirtipur on Sunday, 1 November. It was the first game after Saturday’s rain washout, and it lifted the 2024 champions to second in the points table. The full scorecard is on the match page.

Result

Trit Raj Das anchors Janakpur

Pokhara chose to bowl, and their overseas bowlers took every Janakpur wicket. Shakib Al Hasan was outstanding with 3 for 15 from four overs, and Chamika Karunaratne took 2 for 23. Against his old franchise, Trit Raj Das held the innings together with 61 off 55 balls and seven fours. He added 47 for the first wicket with Moeen Ali (21 off 16). Abhishek Tiwari’s unbeaten 24 off 10 balls at the end pushed the total to a defendable 147.

Moeen Ali’s spin decides the chase

Pokhara captain Kushal Bhurtel made 35 off 24, but wickets fell steadily around him. Moeen Ali bowled four overs for 3 for 13, including a maiden, and captain Harmeet Singh added 2 for 20. Bipin Acharya (20) and an unbeaten 17 from Bipin Khatri kept Pokhara in touch to the end, but they finished on 138 for 9.

Key numbers

• Moeen Ali: 21 runs and 3 for 13, his second big match after an unbeaten 58 against Kathmandu in Match 5.
• Shakib Al Hasan: 3 for 15, the best figures of the match, in a losing side.
• Janakpur’s spinners (Moeen, Harmeet, Lalit Rajbanshi) bowled 12 overs for 59 runs and 6 wickets.
• Janakpur conceded 18 extras, twice the margin of victory, and still won.

What it means for the table

After losing their opener to Karnali Yaks, Janakpur have now won two in a row and sit second on four points, behind Karnali on net run rate. Pokhara are bottom with two defeats from two. Janakpur play Biratnagar Kings next on 3 November at 12:30 PM NPT, and Pokhara face defending champions Lumbini Lions the same evening at 5:00 PM. Every team’s route to the top four is on the playoff scenarios page.