Cricket

Fast bowler Akash Chand snared five wickets as Sudurpaschim Province posted their second successive victory in the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket Tournament, beating holders Lumbini Pradesh by 100 runs on Friday. 

Chasing a 181-run victory target, Lumbini were bundled out for 80 runs in 21 overs. Lumbini opener Akash Tripathi scored 22 runs off 23 balls with four fours. Dev Khanal, who played for the senior team, fell on 13 runs off 18 balls.

Lumbini, who were at one point 36-1 in 5.5 overs, lost their way following the loss of Khanal. 
Captain Bishal KC was dismissed for nine and Manoj Magar for 11, while Bishal Bhushal, Prajwal Thapa and Nar Sarki returned to the pavilion without scoring.

Sudurpaschim bowler Chand returned with figures of 5-13 from three overs. He was ably supported by Hemant Dhami, who took three wickets for 37 runs.

Earlier, Sudurpaschim scored 180 runs in 49.5 overs after being asked to bat. Deepak Bohara scored the highest 54 runs off 73 balls with eight fours. Bishal Aire made 16, Anurag Singh (9), Milan Bohra (1) and Gajendra Bohra (19).

For Lumbini, Bishal KC took three wickets giving away 20 runs in 6 overs, while Nara Sarki and Nirmal Gurung took two wickets each.

Sudurpaschim, who defeated Karnali by five wickets in their opening match, are at the top of the table with 4 points. They play Gandaki Pradesh on Sunday. 

Lumbini will look to bounce back from the defeat when they meet Karnali on Saturday. The top two teams advanced to the final in the seven-team competition played in the single round-robin format.