Saif Hassan — Janakpur’s leading batter

Janakpur’s leading batter

Saif Hassan has scored 140 runs in four matches for Janakpur Bolts in NPL Season 3 — more than any other Bolts batter — including 71 against Biratnagar Kings in Match 12. He has also taken 4 wickets with the ball.

Batter. He is one of the players who have appeared for Janakpur this season without being in the pre-season verified squad list, and he has made the gap in that list look like an oversight: nobody in the side has scored more runs, and only three Bolts bowlers have taken more wickets.

His best game with the bat was also the cruellest. Against Biratnagar Kings in Match 12, on 3 November, he made 71 off 48 balls — two fours and five sixes — top-scoring in Janakpur’s 172 for 7 chasing 175. The Bolts lost by two runs. It was the closest finish of the season so far, and the innings that should have won it.

The rest of the season has been a mix of both disciplines. He opened with 40 not out off 39 balls and 2 for 11 in Match 5 against Kathmandu Gorkhas, on 29 October, as Janakpur bowled the league leaders out for 115 and won by eight wickets — a complete all-round game. In Match 9 against Pokhara Avengers, on 1 November, he made 1 off 9 balls but took 2 for 36 in a nine-run win. And in Match 14 against Lumbini Lions, on 5 November, he made 28 off 25 balls and went wicketless for 31 in a 16-run defeat.

Season 3 in numbers

Four matches, 140 runs at an average of 46.67, and a strike rate of 115.7 — plus 4 wickets at 19.50 apiece. Saif Hassan is the only Janakpur player in the top five of both the side’s run chart and its wicket chart.

Season 3 figures cover every completed match through Match 21 (the abandoned Match 7 produced no play), compiled from the published match scorecards and updated 10 November 2026.

The bowling is not a token effort: 12 overs across three matches, a maiden in there, and an economy of 6.50 that sits just behind Harmeet Singh’s 5.83. His best spell is 2 for 11 in four overs against Kathmandu Gorkhas in Match 5 — the same game as his unbeaten 40. With the bat, the boundary count is balanced — 7 fours and 8 sixes — and the 71 against Biratnagar is the highest score by any Janakpur batter this season.

Match by match

Every innings and every spell, in match order. An asterisk means not out. Full scores for every game are on the NPL Results page.

What the numbers mean

The headline is the runs, but the two-phase contribution is what makes him Janakpur’s most complete cricketer after Moeen Ali. A batter who also takes wickets at 19.50 lets a captain play an extra bowler without weakening the batting — and Saif Hassan has done it in both directions in the same game, twice. The 40 not out and 2 for 11 against Kathmandu is the template: runs when the chase needed steadying, wickets when the defence needed breaking.

The frustration is the context. His 71 came in a two-run defeat, his 28 in a 16-run defeat, and his only fifty-plus score of the season sits in a losing cause. Janakpur’s problem all season has been that the runs have been spread thin — nobody in the side has passed 150 — and the leading batter’s best innings still was not enough. If the Bolts are to win their last game, they need the 71 to become a habit rather than a highlight.

Where the Bolts stand

Janakpur Bolts sit fifth in the NPL points table on 4 points from six matches — two wins, four defeats, net run rate −0.303. One league match remains: Chitwan Rhinos on Friday 13 November at 4:30 PM NST (3:45 PM PKT, 10:45 AM UTC) at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. It is a straight shootout — the winner stays in the playoff race and the loser is out. Chitwan sit one place above Janakpur on 5 points, so a Bolts win takes them past the Rhinos, and leaves Chitwan needing to beat Karnali Yaks on Sunday to stay alive themselves.

The playoffs follow the league stage: 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 the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.