Cricket
Armed Police Force made a winning start to the Prime Minister's Cup National one-day Cricket Tournament with a dramatic 56-run victory over defending champions Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC).
In the match played at the TU Cricket Ground on Sunday, APF made 219 runs before being all out in 47.4 overs after they won the toss and opted to bat first. Pradeep Singh Airey and Sandeep Zora scored a half-century each for APf.
In their chase, TAC were comfortably placed at 142-2 at the halfway stage. But they suffered a dramatic collapse, losing the last eight wickets for 21 runs to be all out for 163 runs in 32.1 overs.
Opener Arjun Saud and number three batsman Bhim Sarki were dismissed at six runs each.
After that, Hari Chauhan and Rohit Paudel shared 95 runs for the third wicket, bringing them close to what appeared until that moment an easy victory.
But then some brilliant bowling from APF's Amarsingh Rautela and Kamal Singh Airey triggered the Army batting collapse.
Kishore Mahato had Rohit Poudel caught by wicketkeeper Asif Sheikh for 51 runs in the fourth ball. Poudel hit seven fours in 59 balls.
Hari Chauhan then fell in the last ball of the same over, when Asif caught him for 65 runs. He hit seven fours and a six while playing 67 balls.
Asif Sheikh then got Binod Bhandari caught by Kamal Airey for one run. TAC then lost wickets at regular intervals. Rajesh Pulami Magar fell for 1, Kushal Malla (3), Sahab Alam (2) and Vikram Sob (1).
Amar Singh Rautela then removed Sushan Bhari, caught by Sharad Bhesawkar for eight runs to secure the win.
Rautela took four wickets, giving away 20 runs in 5.1 overs, while Airey picked three, conceding 56 runs in 10 overs with a maiden.
Earlier, opener Airey rebuilt the APF innings, playing a sheet anchor role after losing fellow opener Ashif Shaikh for nine runs.
After holding one end of the crease for a while, Airey opened his arms to score 71 runs in 80 balls with the help of four fours and six sixes.
Lokesh Bam, who replaced Shaikh in the middle, returned to the pavilion for a duck. And when Bhuvan Karki was dismissed for 26 runs, Sandeep Zora came to the crease at number five. , scored a half-century.
Zora, who faced 62 balls for APF, hit six fours. Amar Singh Rautela remained unbeaten on 10 runs when captain Sharad Bhesawkar returned to the pavilion scoring 16 runs.
Bikram Sob was the peak of the Army team bowlers, dismissing four APF batters for 23 runs in 7.4 overs. Sahab Alam and Kushal Malla took two wickets each, while Sushan Bhari and Jitendra Mukhia took one wicket each.
