Kathmandu: Sudurpaschim Royals stormed into the final of the Nepal Premier League with a commanding 77-run victory over Biratnagar Kings in Qualifier 1, avenging their group-stage defeat, at the TU Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

Sent in to bat first, the Royals posted 155-7, thanks to a calm half-century from veteran Binod Bhandari, before skittling out the Sandeep Lamichhane-led Kings for just 77 runs in 14.1 overs.

Earlier in the league stage, the Kings had defeated the Royals by four wickets, chasing down 148 in only 11.5 overs. But they failed to replicate that performance in the virtual semi-final, allowing last season’s runners-up Royals to reach the final for the second year running. The Royals had lost the previous edition’s title decider to Janakpur Bolts.

The Kings were the architects of their own downfall, collapsing meekly in what appeared to be a modest chase. Their top order crumbled within the first seven balls, with Australian opener Sam Heazlett (golden duck), Martin Guptill (2) and Naren Bhatta (golden duck) all dismissed cheaply, leaving the side tottering at 3-3. New Zealand pacer Scott Kuggeleijn removed Heazlett—caught by skipper Dipendra Singh Airee—while Guptill was run out.

South African star Faf du Plessis top-scored for the Kings with 36 off 29, striking three boundaries and a six. Only Marchant de Lange (15 off 11) and Basir Ahamad (12 off 18) managed to reach double figures among the remaining batters.

For the Royals, Kuggeleijn along with Harmeet Singh and Abinash Bohara chipped in with two wickets each.

Earlier, Bhandari anchored the Royals’ innings with a fluent 63 off 52 balls, featuring three fours and two sixes. He fell to Pratish GC on the final delivery of the penultimate over, caught by Heazlett. Sheldon Jackson, who joined the squad for the playoffs, added a brisk 20 off 11, while Aarif Sheikh contributed a valuable 20 off 13.

Harmeet Singh (14 off 11), Ishan Pandey (13 off 17) and Mukhtar Ahmed (10 off 10) also chipped in with useful runs.

For the Kings, English pacer Marchant de Lange returned impressive figures of 2-23 from his four overs, while Pratish GC picked up 2-31 from three.

Jackson and Mukhtar joined the Royals as replacements for the in-form Chris Lynn and Josh Brown, who departed after the league stage.