Sudurpaschim Royals vs Chitwan Rhinos: NPL 2026 Match 11 Report

Updated Tue, 3 Nov 2026

Sudurpaschim Royals chased 130 with 20 balls to spare to beat Chitwan Rhinos by five wickets in Match 11 of NPL 2026 at Kirtipur on Monday night, 2 November. It was Chitwan’s first defeat of the season and Sudurpaschim’s second win. The full scorecard is on the match page.

Result

Bopara holds Chitwan together

Chitwan, led by Sikandar Raza, never got going. Hemant Dhami trapped Dev Khanal lbw in the second over, Scott Kuggeleijn bowled Arjun Saud in the fifth, and Dawid Malan made only 16 off 17 before captain Dipendra Singh Airee had him caught, leaving Chitwan 62 for 3 after 9.4 overs. Ravi Bopara top-scored with 49 off 40 balls (three fours, two sixes), and passed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket during the innings. Raza made 15 off 20 before Anil Kharel had him caught, and Kuggeleijn removed Bopara in the 19th over. Bibek Kumar Yadav’s 17 off 15 took Chitwan to 129 for 6.

Sudurpaschim’s bowling was the story of the first innings. Kharel conceded 18 runs from four overs and Airee 16 from three. Kuggeleijn took 2 for 26.

McMullen settles the chase

Rijan Dhakal bowled Saif Zaib in the second over, but Brandon McMullen took the powerplay away from Chitwan with 43 off 21 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. Ranjit Kumar dismissed Binod Bhandari for 11, and Chitwan briefly fought back when two wickets fell on 71 in the seventh over, including Airee bowled first ball by Kumar. Ishan Pandey (25 off 29) was lbw to Mousom Dhakal at 103 for 5 in the 13th over. Aarif Sheikh (20 not out) and Sherfane Rutherford (21 not out off 15) then added an unbroken 28 to finish the game in the 17th over.

Key numbers

• 10,000 T20 runs for Ravi Bopara, reached during his 49.
• 4.50: Anil Kharel’s economy rate. His 1 for 18 took him to 6 wickets for the season, one behind leader Sompal Kami.
• 13 extras in the match, nine of them conceded by Chitwan.
• McMullen has 67 runs off 35 balls in three innings this season.

What it means for the table

Sudurpaschim move up to third on four points, level with Karnali Yaks and Janakpur Bolts, although their net run rate (−1.065) is still the worst of the top five after the 87 all out in the opener. Chitwan drop to fifth on three points. Lumbini Lions are now the only unbeaten team. Sudurpaschim play Karnali next on Friday, 6 November at 12:30 PM NPT (preview). Chitwan play Pokhara Avengers that evening at 5:00 PM. The live points table and playoff scenarios update after every match.