Cricket
Nepal Police Club beat Madhesh Province by 191 runs in the final Group ‘A’ match of the Prime Minister’s Cup National One-Day Cricket Tournament on Tuesday.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first at the TU Cricket Ground, NPC put up a respectable 273 runs before being bowled out in the final over.
They started the match shakily, losing openers Sunil Dhamala and Kushal Bhurtel cheaply for 11 and five runs, respectively.
Yogendra Singh Karki was sent packing for a duck, and with the score of 45-3, NPC were struggling.
They gained momentum and stability after Amit Shrestha, Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee all scored fifties.
Shrestha scored 65 from 96 balls with nine fours, Sheikh scored 73 from 86 balls with eight fours and one six, while skipper Airee got 51 from 43 balls with three fours and one six.
Dilip Nath’s 40 from 31 balls with one four and three sixes helped the team cross the 250-run mark.
Madhesh’s Rajesh Yadav and Rupesh Singh took three wickets each, Mohammad Aadil Alam took two, while Bishal Patel and Harishankar Sah shared one each.
Santosh Karki and Harishankar Shah opened the innings for Madhesh but were sent packing quickly for 3 and 10 runs, respectively.
Madhesh could not break free from NPC’s tight line of bowling for the rest of the innings, losing wickets in quick succession.
Aadil Alam scored 42 from 76 balls with three fours and three sixes but wasn’t supported by his teammates.
The shambolic batting of Madhesh came to an end in the 29th over as they were bowled out for 82 runs.
NPC’s Kushal Bhurtel completed a five-wicket haul in 8.3 overs, giving away 22 runs.
Rashid Khan picked up two, while Karan KC took three wickets.
Army crush Karnali
At the Mulpani Cricket Ground, Tribhuvan Army Club registered a 140-run victory over Karnali Province.
Army won the toss and elected to bat first, putting up 254 runs on the board at the loss of six wickets from their allocated 50 overs.
An all-around good batting performance from Army helped them cross the 250-run mark.
Openers Arjun Saud and Anil Mandal scored 20 and 17 runs, respectively. Rajesh Pulami managed 28, Bhim Sharki (29), Hari Chauhan (31).
Kushal Malla and Rohit Paudel scored 35 runs, while Binod Bhandari top-scored for Army from 37 from 28 balls with one four and three sixes.
Karnali’s Prakash Jaishi picked up three wickets, Dipendra Rawat took two and Dinesh Adhikari took one.
In reply, Karnali were restricted to 114 in 28.3 overs at the loss of nine wickets with Himanshu Shahi being absent hurt.
Opener Bipin Rawal scored 48 from 63 balls with six fours but was fighting a solo fight.
Arjun Gharti managed 17, Prakash Jaishi (11), Sandip Shahi (11), Nischal Rawal (4), Diwan Pun (4) and Mohan BK (7).
Bipin Shahi, Dinesh Shahi and Dipendra Adhikari were sent packing for ducks.
Army’s Rohit Paudel took three wickets, Hari Chauhan and Shahab Alam picked up two and Jitendra Mukhiya and Sushan Bhari shared one each.
