Cricket

Gandaki Province beat Karnali Province by 32 runs in a Group A match of the ongoing Prime Minister’s Cup National One-Day Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.

Gandaki, put into bat by Karnali, made a stuttering start as opener Sameer Kandel was dismissed for four runs. But the other opener, Arjun Kumal, held their innings. He missed a half-century by a run after playing 88 balls with four fours. 

Bidhan Shrestha also missed a fifty, falling four runs short after a patient inning from 104 balls with six fours. But Avishek Basnet managed a 45-ball half-century, with the help of eight fours and a six.

However, Karnali right-arm medium pacer Anuj Chanara and Prakash Jaishi bowled with controlled line and length as Gandaki lost wickets in clusters. Kamal Pariyar was dismissed for a duck, while Sandeep Chettri fell for eight, Bipin Khatri (3), Karan Pangeni (1), Krishna Poudel (4), and Chandra Paudel (1). Subash Bhandari was the only other player who managed double figures for Gandaki scoring 14.

Chanara picked four wickets, Jaishi took three and Dinesh Adhikari picked up one.

In reply, Karnali lost three early wickets in eight overs with just 22 runs on the board. Himanshu Shahi kept fighting till the end. He remained unbeaten on 69 runs from 116 balls with eight fours, but Karnali kept losing wickets at the other end.

Arjun Gharti, Suwash Ayer and Diwan Pun scored five runs each, while Dinesh Adhikari made nine, Dipendra Rawat (2), and Anuj Chanara (4).

Gandaki’s Subash Bhandari and Chandra Pauel shared three wickets each while Bipin Khatri took two and Kamal Pariyar and Avishek Basnet picked up one each.

Wednesday's win has put Gandaki second in the Group A table with four points. Armed Police Force will be the next opposition of the two sides, with Gandaki playing with them first on Friday and Karnali on Saturday.