That's it from our end, but don't go anywhere, we have one more game in their ranks today in the Nepal Premier League. See you there.
Till then, this is Arjun Bhalla, signing off on behalf of Dev and Bishal Mandal!
Karan KC (Kathmandu Gorkhas Captain): "I think we learnt from our mistakes, and came strongly. All players have started to perform.
The batters need to work on building partnerships; hopefully, we will work on it.
(Rashid Khan) He has been brilliant, even in the nets. You all saw what he can do. Very happy with the win. Thanks!"
John Simpson (Player of the Match): "Yeah, it felt really good to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the middle. More importantly, it feels good to come out on the winning side.
When I walked in at 24 for 3, the situation wasn’t easy, so the focus for Milind and me was just to build a partnership and settle things down. We weren’t looking at a massive number, but I felt somewhere around 150 would be a strong total. From there, it was just about trusting my instincts, backing my shots, and rotating strikes when needed.
As the innings went on, I did have to make a few adjustments depending on who was bowling. When the left-arm spinner came on, I focused on picking my areas and running hard between the wickets. And once the seamers came back, especially with the slower variations, I tried to use my feet a bit more and be proactive, as the coach keeps reminding me, 'aim for the sight screen when they miss.'
So yeah, happy with the contribution and the way we fought back. Hopefully, we carry this momentum forward into the next game."
Player of the Match: John Simpson
Maximum Fours: Milind Kumar
Energetic Player of the Match: Arjun Saud
Catch of the Match: Sohail Tanvir
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
2:48 PM IST, 3:03 PM Local Time: A clinical victory after all for the Kathmandu Gorkhas. They have restricted the chasing to 89/10 in the chase of 143 to win this clash by 53 runs. The Kathmandu side has replaced Chitwan at third place in the points table.
After putting 143 runs on the board, thanks to John Simpson's 60 and Milind Kumar's 43-ball 38 - the bowlers turned like men on a mission. Milind Kumar and Karan KC broke Chitwan's batting backbone as they removed Dawid Malan, Deepak Bohara and Saif Zaib inside the powerplay overs.
They lost Dev Khanal after an impressive 21 off 18 balls to Shahab Alam. The Kathmandu spinners, then, didn't allow the middle and low-middle to settle in. Even Ravi Bopara, who had smashed three half-centuries in his first three games, failed to revive the innings. Alam added one more to his tally, while Santosh Yadav took one. Rashid Khan also chipped in three wickets as he cleaned up the tail. Meanwhile, two wickets apiece went to Captain KC, Milind Kumar and Alam.
Earlier in the morning, the Gorkhas were found in a similar position, but Simpson and Milind Kumar had a brilliant time together. The duo shared a 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket, helping them post a respectable total.