Martin Guptill smashed the 1st half-century of the NPL 2024 for the Biratnagar Kings against the Janakpur Bolts in the opening match of the inaugural edition as the NPL 2024 started at TU Ground in Kirtipur.
Janakpur Bolts won the toss and elected to bowl first against the kings. Kishore Mahato started with the new ball to bowl the very first delivery of the Nepal Premier League 2024 for the Janakpur Bolts, while Guptill and Lokesh Bam opened the inning for the Kings.
Guptill started the inning very slowly for the Kings as he smashed the first boundary in the final delivery of the 4th over.
He set the strong foundation for the Biratnagar King’s big score; however, he wasn’t supported from the other end.
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Aqib Illyas was the only second scorer for the Biratnagar Kings to reach the double-digit score.
Martin Guptill smashed a half-century in style with the first six of the tournament and in just 36 deliveries.
Guptill was dismissed in the last delivery of the 14th over by Harsh Thaker after skipper Anil Sah took a fumbled catch on the second attempt, and the set man Guptill headed towards the pavilion after a powerful knock.
He scored 55 runs in 43 deliveries with 7 boundaries and a maximum at a strike rate of 127.9, which is the first half-century of the NPL 2024 and for the Biratnagar Kings too.
Biratnagar Kings were 96/4 at the end of 14 overs however, they suffered a batting collapse, losing another 6 wickets for only 31 runs.
As a result, the Biratnagar Kings were bundled out for just 127 runs in the 19th over and gave the target of 128 runs to the Janakpur Bolts.
Martin Guptill NPL 2024
Battings Stats
| Matches | Runs | Balls | 6/4 | 50/100 | HS | strike rate |
| 1 | 55 | 43 | 1/7 | 1/0 | 55 | 129.9 |
Fielding stats
| Matches | Balls | Runs | Wickets | BBF |
| – | – | – | – | – |
What’s your opinion on the target score of the Biratnagar Kings? Will Janakpur Bolts chase it? comment below