Chitwan Rhinos vs Lumbini Lions, NPL, Today Match Prediction 10 December 2024

CR vs LBL Match Prediction & Analysis

Lions and Rhinos will be head-to-head in the 16th match of the Nepal Premier League 2024. Chitwan Rhinos have won 3 of their 4 matches so far while Lumbini Lions have lost all 4 and are at the bottom of the points table.

While Rhinos’ batting may have been a little inconsistently lately with a few hiccups on their way, the bowlers have been brilliant. They were exceptional in the last game while defending a 164-run total.

Lumbini Lions were close to their first win of the season in the last outing while chasing a small target of 137 runs. They lost by a single run with skipper Rohit Paudel being the top scorer for the Lions with 35 off 38 balls at number 3.

Tom Moores, Ben Cutting, and Saad Bin Zafar are some of the star players in the Lions’ squad. Ravi Bopara is the key all-rounder delivering big for the Rhinos.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

CR

W L W W

SPR

131/10 in 18.2 7.15

NPL

Chitwan Rhinos won by 33 runs 08 Dec 2024

CR

164/5 in 20.0 8.2

KNY

132/4 in 19.5 6.66

NPL

Karnali Yaks beat Chitwan Rhinos by 6 wickets 06 Dec 2024

CR

130/7 in 20.0 6.5

CR

161/7 in 20.0 8.05

NPL

Chitwan Rhinos beat Pokhara Avengers by 87 runs 03 Dec 2024

PKA

74/10 in 13.2 5.55

KMG

111/9 in 20.0 5.55

NPL

Chitwan Rhinos beat Kathmandu Gurkhas by 5 wickets 02 Dec 2024

CR

114/5 in 17.1 6.64

LBL

L L L L

JKB

136/9 in 20.0 6.8

NPL

Janakpur Bolts beat Lumbini Lions by 1 runs 08 Dec 2024

LBL

135/8 in 20.0 6.75

LBL

142/9 in 20.0 7.1

NPL

Sudurpaschim Royals beat Lumbini Lions by 45 runs 07 Dec 2024

SPR

187/4 in 20.0 9.35

LBL

170/5 in 20.0 8.5

NPL

Pokhara Avengers won by 10 wickets 06 Dec 2024

PKA

176/0 in 16.5 10.46

BK

193/8 in 19.5 9.73

NPL

Biratnagar Kings beat Lumbini Lions by 2 wickets 04 Dec 2024

LBL

191/7 in 20.0 9.55

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Chitwan Rhinos Preview

Chitwan Rhinos will be looking to carry the momentum from their recent win and continue to be on the winning way. The skipper will be hoping to not have another hiccup like they did against Karnali Yaks.

They had finished with 130 for 7 batting first against the Yaks and lost the game by 6 wickets. Nevertheless, their bowlers were brilliant in defending the total and it was only in the last over that the Yaks reached the target.

The Rhinos took the positives from that game and delivered an even stronger bowling performance in the next match as they bowled out SPR for 131 runs while defending a 164-run total.

Ravi Bopara provided the finish Rhinos needed while Hassan Eisakhil delivered a big start to set the Rhions on track for a winning total. Bopara is in great touch and will be one to watch out for in the batting lineup.

While Bipin Rawal and skipper Kushal Malla haven’t been very consistent in the middle, they have a key role to play with the bat. The strength of Chitwan Rhinos lies in their bowling attack.

Sohail Tanvir, an experienced medium pacer will be leading them with the ball. Ravi Bopara is another experienced all-rounder who can deliver key breakthroughs. Rijan Dhakkal and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton are other consistent wicket-takers in this squad.

Chitwan Rhinos Predicted Playing XI:

Santosh Khatri, Hassan Eisakhil, Bipin Rawal (wk), Kushal Malla (c), Ravi Bopara, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Amar Routela, Rijan Dhakal, Ranjit Kumar, Deepak Bohara, Sohail Tanvir

Chitwan Rhinos Actual Playing XI:

Ravi Bopara, Bipin Rawal, Santosh Karki, Ranjit Kumar, Rijan Dhakal, Kushal Malla, Amar Routela, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Luc Benkenstein, Nar Sarki, Sohail Tanvir

Lumbini Lions Preview

Lumbini Lions will be looking for their first win as they take on an in-form Chitwan Rhinos. Considering the squad strength, we expect much better performances from the Lions.

However, they still need to live up to the expectations. Their last decent performance came against PKA while batting first. They posted 170 runs with skipper Rohit Paudel scoring 95 runs at number 3 and ed by Tom Moores scoring 45 at number 5.

170 runs is a very competitive total on this wicket. We would expect the batting team to win the match 8 out of 10 times with that total in this league. However, the Lions lost that game by 10 wickets.

The bowlers continued being expensive as they conceded 187 runs for 4 wickets in the next outing while bowling first. This is a big concern for the Lions. Though they made a comeback in their last outing as they restricted the opposition to 136 runs, we don’t reckon these bowlers are very reliable at the moment.

Abhishek Gautam, Saad Bin Zafar, and skipper Rohit Paudel will all be crucial with the ball along with Ramon Simmonds. There are many options for the skipper when it comes to the bowling attack.

The batting performances have taken a hit since their 10-wicket loss. The top 3 batters are struggling to score runs and Unmukt Chand was shown the door in the last outing after his consistent failures.

Tom Moores and Ben Cutting will be expected to step up and deliver impactful knocks in the middle order while Rohit Paudel leads from the front in the top 3.

Lumbini Lions Predicted Playing XI:

Aashutosh Ghiraiya, Arjun Saud (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Tom Moores, Ben Cutting, Bibek Yadav, Sundeep Jora, Saad Bin Zafar, Durgesh Gupta, Abhishek Gautam, Ramon Simmonds

Lumbini Lions Actual Playing XI:

Unmukt Chand, Tom Moores, Rohit Paudel, Sundeep Jora, Arjun Saud, Abhishek Gautam, Aashutosh Ghiraiya, Ramon Simmonds, Durgesh Gupta, Bibek Yadav, Saad Bin Zafar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It will be clear and sunny in Kirtipur with a high of 17 degrees Celsius on the match day. There will be rain just a day before this match. However, on the match day, we don’t expect any rain interruptions.

CR vs LBL Pitch Report

It is a balanced wicket with a slight edge in favor of the bowlers at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. The average 1st innings score in the last 10 matches here is 156 runs. We reckon anything around 170-175 should be a highly competitive total in this game.

Toss: To Bat

There is no clear advantage to either batting or bowling first on this ground. Teams bowling first have won 5 of the last 10 matches. However, the trend in recent matches indicates an upper hand for the team defending a total. As the pitch gets more favorable for bowlers, chasing won’t be an exciting option on this pitch.