PM Balen Shah inaugurates third edition of NPL, Sudurpashchim lose 4 wickets in powerplay

Prime Minister Balen Shah formally inaugurated the third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL). At a ceremony held on Monday at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, he inaugurated the tournament by handing the ball to the umpire. PM Shah also shook hands with the players and wished them well. Education and Sports Minister Sasmita Pokharel was also present at the ground to watch the opening match.

In the opening match, defending champions Lumbini Lions faced runners-up Sudurpashchim Royals. Lumbini captain Rohit Kumar Paudel won the toss and opted to bowl first, sending Sudurpashchim in to bat.

Sudurpashchim lost four wickets in the powerplay itself. Opener Binod Bhandari was out LBW off Sher Malla's bowling after scoring 9 runs off 8 balls. Arif Sheikh was dismissed for zero off Kishor Mahato's bowling. Brandon McMullen and Saif Ali Zaib were also dismissed, with Zaib scoring 13 runs.

This match marked the first-ever use of the Umpire Decision Review System (DRS) in the history of Nepali cricket. Three-dimensional ball-tracking technology was used to review LBW decisions. Arif survived a DRS review once but was later dismissed caught out.