Nepal T20 League - Far West United Beat Kathmandu Knights In Low-Scoring Thriller To Open Account

Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi led from the very front as Far West United beat Kathmandu Knights in a low-scoring thriller to open their account in the ongoing Nepal T20 League.

Both the teams had entered the game on the back of contrasting results in their first games of the ongoing competition. Kathmandu Knights had defeated Pokhara Avengers in their first game while Far West United had suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Lumbini All-Stars in their tournament opener.

NepalT20
Match 5 – Kathmandu Knights vs Far West United

Player of the Match: Hashmatullah Shahidi (FWU)#NepalT20 pic.twitter.com/9tT2ZcO4Kj

— CAN (@CricketNep) December 26, 2022

The win has helped Far West United to move to the fourth spot from the bottom of the points table. As far as Kathmandu Knights are concerned, they are in the third spot with 1 win and 1 defeat.

Kathmandu Knights innings:

Asked to bat first, the Knights put up a poor performance with the bat. They could post only 98 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. The Kathmandu based-outfit lost their first five wickets even before touching the 50-run mark.

At that stage, crossing the 90-run mark was looking like a distant dream. However, an unbeaten knock of 45 from Alex Blake gave the scoreboard some respectability.

Apart from Blake, only Santosh Karki (12) and skipper Gyanendra Malla (13) managed to touch the double-digit mark. The Knights kept losing wickets at regular intervals and consequently, their innings never got the impetus.

For Far West United, Umair Ali picked up 3 for 15 while Hashmatullah Shahidi and Bhuvan Karki took 2 wickets apiece.

Far West United innings:

Unlike the Knights batsmen, the Knights bowlers put up a solid display and nearly propelled their team to an unlikely win. But with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi standing firm, Far West United managed to cross the finishing line in the very final over.

NepalT20
Match 5 – Kathmandu Knights vs Far West United
– Match Summary#NepalT20 pic.twitter.com/H3vghL4jel

— CAN (@CricketNep) December 26, 2022

With the Knights bowlers keeping things tight, United was finding it hard to score runs at will. And losing wickets at crucial junctures only made things tougher for them. At one stage, they were reeling at 69 for 6. Shahid, however, remained till the end and scored an unbeaten 50 to take his team home with 5 balls remaining.

Nepal T20 League points table: