Kathmandu: Kathmandu Gorkhas registered their second victory defeating national captain Rohit Paudel-led Lumbini Lions by 22 runs in the Nepal Premier League T20 at the TU Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

Put in to bat first, Gorkhas’ captain Karan KC produced a late blitz smashing an unbeaten 34 off just 11 balls as his side posted 157-8 before bowling out the Lions for 135 with five balls to spare.

The win lifts the Gorkhas to third place with four points from two wins and two losses, while the Lions sit on two points with one win and a second consecutive defeat.

Coming in at No. 9, KC played a fierce knock featuring one boundary and four towering sixes—all in the penultimate over—as the Gorkhas crossed the 150-run mark.

Opener Aakash Tripathi chipped in with 32 off 36, including three boundaries. Middle-order batter Santosh Yadav made a crucial 26 off 16 balls hammering two sixes. Milind Kumar (17 off 20), Gerhard Erasmus (17 off 15) and Rashid Khan (14 off 10) were the other Gorkhas batters to reach double figures.

For the Lions, Sher Malla, Ruben Trumpelmann, Gulbadin Naib and captain Paudel picked up two wickets each.

Chasing the target under floodlights, the Lions lost wickets at regular intervals. Lower-order batter Sher Malla played a quickfire 27 off 18, including three consecutive sixes off Shahab Alam in the 17th over, before being run out.

Middle-order batter Dilip Nath contributed 25 off 33, hitting a boundary and a six before captain KC had him caught by Shahab Alam. Opener D’Arcy Short added 22 off 11, striking three boundaries and a six. He fell to Milind Kumar, caught by Adil Alam.

Captain Paudel (11 off 16) and Gulbadin Naib (11 off 6) were the only other Lions batters to reach double digits.

For the Gorkhas, Milind Kumar claimed 2-18 in his four-over spell, while Erasmus returned figures of 2-27 from his four overs.