Top-four race goes down to the wire as NPL Season 3 nears league-stage conclusion

The race for the top four is getting interesting in the third season of the Nepal Premier League. With playoff spots up for grabs and minimal margin for error, the Post looks at where every team stands in the battle for qualification. The Lions, the defending champions, suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, losing by 30 runs against Kathmandu Gorkhas.

But the Lions are still at the top of the points table—with three wins and a cancelled match—with seven points. Lumbini have only two more matches remaining and the Lions want to win them both. “We are still at the top four and we can still finish as the top two by winning the remaining games,” Rohit Kumar Paudel, Lumbini’s skipper told the journalists after the loss to Kathmandu.

The Lions will face Karnali Yaks and Biratnagar Kings on November 12 and 14, respectively. Two more wins means Lumbini could finish the league stage with 11 points, which will, however, not guarantee the first-place finish.