By Rick M 
This season of the Nepal Premier League 2024 is now nearing the playoff round in the first edition of the competition. The league started early this month and has witnessed a stiff Nicholas sports rivalry amongst the eight teams. On date December 16, the Sudurpaschim Royals topped the points table with 10 points in 6 matches, while the Janakpur Kings secured 10 points in seven matches. In the third and fourth positions, the Chitwan Rhinos and the Karnali Yaks are also both on 8 points.
The most recent encounter was a comfortable one for the Janakpur Bolts, who won the match by five wickets and qualified for the playoffs against the Kathmandu Gurkhas. This was rather important to the Bolts who were assured of their qualification to the next stage of the tournament. The Gurkhas, however, never looked comfortable during their turn with the bat and kept losing wickets at regular intervals; that, too, sealed their fate. This conclusion has rather dramatically changed the makeup of the playoffs for the rest of the teams.
Elsewhere, the Biratnagar Kings joined the second team, becoming the team outside of playoffs a season. This early elimination has been a let-down to the Kings and their fans, who began the tournament season with great optimism. This removal of the Biratnager team has created more zeal in other teams as they all compete for a few lucky spots in playoffs.
The Nepal Premier League 2024 has been entertaining cricket lovers but has also given the new talents from Nepal a perfect opportunity to prove themselves. The tournament has seen some brilliant batting, bowling, and fielding, as well as commendable athletic brilliance from the cricketers. As the league stage draws to its triumphant close, people all over Nepal are already looking forward to the playoffs, which will showcase even more stiff cricketing battles on the field and decide the inaugural winner of the Nepal Premier League.