Kathmandu: Australian opener D’Arcy Short struck a composed half-century as Lumbini Lions edged Biratnagar Kings by five wickets in the Nepal Premier League T20, keeping their playoff hopes firmly alive.

Put in to bat first, the Sandeep Lamichhane-led Kings were restricted to a modest 144-8 before the Lions cruised to 145-5 in 17.4 overs at the TU Cricket Stadium, Kirtipur, on Wednesday.

The victory—Lumbini’s third in six matches—lifted national captain Rohit Paudel’s side to fourth place on six points.

The Kings, meanwhile, remain third with eight points from six games. The top four teams at the end of the league stage qualify for the playoffs.

The Lions’ chase had early hiccups, losing opener Sumit Maharjan (10) and captain Rohit Paudel (0) in quick succession. But Short steadied the innings with a fluent 57 off 46 balls, laced with six fours and two sixes, before he was caught by Lokesh Bam off Lamichhane.

Niroshan Dickwella guided the chase home with an unbeaten 29 off 22, hitting two boundaries and a six. Sandeep Jora chipped in with a brisk 24 off 15, featuring three fours and a six, while Dilip Nath added 16 off 11.

Kings’ leg-spinner Lamichhane and Subash Bhandari claimed two wickets apiece, conceding 20 and 30 runs respectively from their four overs.

Earlier, the Kings’ innings faltered early after openers George Munsay (0) and debutant Faf du Plessis (12) departed cheaply.

Lokesh Bam and Sam Heazlett revived the innings with a 55-run stand for the third wicket. Bam top-scored with 35 off 42, hitting two fours and two sixes, before falling to Jonathan Smith’s return catch.

Heazlett struck a quickfire 27 off 20 with one four and two sixes while Basir Ahamad contributed a valuable 28 off 19. Pratish GC (11 off 9) and Marchant de Lange (10 off 8) also reached double figures.

Lions’ Sher Malla was the standout bowler, delivering an impressive 3-25 from his four overs.