Rewind: Lumbini Lions crush Sudurpaschim Royals to win the 2025 NPL final
Rohit Paudel's hat-trick and Ruben Trumpelmann's spell bowled the Royals out for 85, and the Lions chased it in nine overs. A look back before the rematch.
Before the two teams meet again on the opening night of Season 3, here is how the 2025 Nepal Premier League final unfolded on 13 December at Kirtipur.
Royals choose to bat
Sudurpaschim Royals arrived as the form team of the season. They had topped the league with six wins from seven matches and beaten Biratnagar Kings by 77 runs in Qualifier 1. Lumbini Lions had taken the long way round, finishing fourth before winning the Eliminator against Kathmandu Gorkhas and Qualifier 2 against Biratnagar.
Sudurpaschim won the toss and chose to bat. It did not work.
Collapse to 85
The Lions' bowlers took control from the start. Ruben Trumpelmann, the left-arm seamer who was later named player of the series, gave away almost nothing and took three wickets. Sher Malla added three more. Only Ishan Pandey, with 33 from 51 balls, held up the innings for long, while captain Dipendra Singh Airee made 13.
The defining moment came from the Lions' captain. Rohit Paudel took three wickets in three balls, the second hat-trick in NPL history and the first of his NPL career, and finished with 3 for 12. Sudurpaschim were all out for 85 in 19.1 overs.
Nine overs to finish it
Lumbini needed only 86 to win, and Dinesh Adhikari made sure there would be no nerves. He hit four sixes in the first over of the chase and made 42 from just 13 balls. Paudel added 16, D'Arcy Short 14, and Niroshan Dickwella finished unbeaten on 11 as the Lions reached the target for the loss of four wickets in nine overs.
Hemant Dhami took two wickets for Sudurpaschim, but the total was never enough.
What it meant
It was Lumbini's first NPL title and Sudurpaschim's second defeat in a final in two years. Trumpelmann was named player of the match. Nepal's prime minister was among those who congratulated the new champions.
The rematch
Most of both squads are back for Season 3. The Lions have added Aasif Sheikh, while the Royals have kept their bowling attack and brought back Scott Kuggeleijn. They meet in Match 1 on Monday 26 October at 4:30 PM.
