Karnali Yaks vs Lumbini Lions — Match 23 Live

Karnali Yaks vs Lumbini Lions, Thursday, 12 November 2026 at 4:30 PM NST

The 23rd match of the NPL season is the evening game of Thursday 12 November 2026, starting at 4:30 PM NST — 10:45 AM UTC, 3:45 PM PKT — at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. It follows the afternoon match between Biratnagar Kings and Pokhara Avengers, and it is the last game of the day.

This is the first meeting of the two sides this season. Lumbini Lions arrive third in the table on 7 points from five matches, with the league's best net run rate at +1.501. Karnali Yaks are seventh on 4 points from five matches, and they have lost their last three games. The full scorecard will appear on this page once the match is played.

The contrast is the story of the game: Lumbini have won by 7 wickets, by 8 wickets and by 16 runs in their three victories, while Karnali's defeats have grown heavier — by 4 wickets, by 39 runs and then by 63 runs. A fourth straight defeat would leave Karnali's season hanging by a thread.

Points Table

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Recent Performance

Scorecard

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Live

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Recent form

Recent results only — every score below is from Season 3, matches 1 to 21.

Karnali's season started with a 19-run win over Janakpur Bolts in Match 3 and a narrow 4-wicket defeat to Biratnagar Kings in Match 6, when they defended 186/7 and lost with a ball to spare. Since then the defeats have piled up: Kathmandu Gorkhas chased 180/6 in Match 10, Sudurpaschim Royals beat them by 39 runs in Match 16, and Pokhara Avengers beat them by 63 runs in Match 19 after posting 217/3. The bowling has conceded 176, 181 and 217 in those three games, and no total Karnali have set since the opener has been enough.

Lumbini's only defeat came in Match 18, when Kathmandu Gorkhas beat them by 36 runs after posting 160/8. Before that they were unbeaten: a 7-wicket win over Sudurpaschim Royals in the season opener, an 8-wicket win over Pokhara Avengers in Match 13, a 16-run win over Janakpur Bolts in Match 14, and a no-result against Chitwan Rhinos in Match 7, when rain ended the game. Their batting has been steady rather than explosive, and their bowling has kept every opponent below 150 except Kathmandu.

Playoff race

Points table after Match 21, played on Tuesday 10 November 2026. The top four qualify for the playoffs.

A Lumbini win takes them to 9 points if they lost on Thursday, and to 11 if they won both games, with one match left, against Biratnagar Kings on Saturday — and with a net run rate of +1.501 they would be almost certain of a playoff place. Only Kathmandu Gorkhas, on 8 points with two games left, and Sudurpaschim Royals, on 8 points with one game left, could finish above 9 points. A defeat leaves them on 7 points and still needing a result on Saturday.

For Karnali, this is the game that decides whether their season has a final weekend. A win takes them to 6 points with one match left, against Chitwan Rhinos on Sunday, and two wins from two would leave them on 8 points — right in the mix for fourth place. A defeat leaves them on 4 points with a net run rate of −0.846, and even a win on Sunday would only take them to 6, needing several other results to fall their way.

The top four qualify for the playoffs: Qualifier 1 on Tuesday 17 November, the Eliminator on Wednesday 18 November, Qualifier 2 on Thursday 19 November and the final on Saturday 21 November, all at 4:30 PM NST at Kirtipur. Kathmandu Gorkhas lead the table on 8 points, Sudurpaschim Royals are second on 8, and Chitwan Rhinos hold fourth on 5.

Players to watch

Season 3 numbers only, from matches 1 to 21. Every name below links to that player's profile.

Karnali's batting rests on two men. Ariful Islam has 143 runs in five matches with a highest score of 44 and 12 sixes, and Pawan Sarraf has 140 runs in five matches with 10 sixes of his own. Between them they have hit 22 sixes — more than most whole teams — and if both fire, Karnali can post a total their bowlers can defend.

With the ball, Sompal Kami has 9 wickets in five matches, the joint-most by any bowler outside the top two, and he has also made 93 runs with the bat, including a fifty. He is Karnali's most complete cricketer, and Lumbini will want him out of the attack early.

For Lumbini, Rohit Paudel leads the batting with 86 runs in four matches, and Sher Malla leads the bowling with 8 wickets in four matches. Neither number tops the league charts, which is the point: Lumbini's strength is that the runs and wickets are shared around, and no single dismissal ends their innings or their bowling threat.

Head to head

Karnali Yaks and Lumbini Lions have not met before in Season 3, so this is their first meeting of the season. Their paths so far could hardly be more different: Lumbini have lost once in five games, Karnali have lost three in a row, and the two sides sit four places apart in the table.

The one common thread is Kathmandu Gorkhas, who have beaten both — by 4 wickets against Karnali in Match 10 and by 36 runs against Lumbini in Match 18. Karnali will take some comfort from pushing Kathmandu to the final over; Lumbini will take more from the fact that only Kathmandu have beaten them at all.

Match information

Start time 4:30 PM NST (10:45 AM UTC, 3:45 PM PKT). Match yet to begin — the scorecard will appear on this page after the match.

Previous and next matches

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