Sports
APF, Province 7 triumph
Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Province 7 opened the PM Cup national cricket tournament with comprehensive wins on Sunday.Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Province 7 opened the PM Cup national cricket tournament with comprehensive wins on Sunday.
At the Tribhuvan University Stadium, APF cruised to a five-wicket win over Province 4, while Province 7 made light of their low below par total to beat Province 6 by 48 runs at the Mulpani Cricket Grounds. Electing to bat first, Province 4 put on 239-9 in their allotted 50 overs before APF chased the target with a relative ease, scoring 242-5 in 36.3 overs.
Hari Chauhan, batting at No 6, top scored for Province 4 with a fluent 57 off 64 balls with seven boundaries and a six. Skipper Bidhan Shrestha made a painstaking 43 off 82 balls, while Bipin Khatri scored a quickfire 27 off 11 deliveries with three sixes and a four batting down the tailend to bolster the Province 4 total. Kamal Singh took three and Amar Singh Routela grabbed two wickets for APF.
In reply, APF had a poor start losing opener Aasif Sheikh (5) and No 3 batsman Anil Kumar Sah (1) to be reeling at 13-2 by the third over. But Aasif’s opening partner Subash Khakurel held firm and together with Prithu Baskota and man-of-the-match Rohit Kumar Paudel steered their team to easy win.
Subash fell two runs short of half century after hitting six boundaries in his 61-ball stay and together with Pradeep Airee (37) put on a crucial 79-run stand for the third wicket. Prithu and Rahul then completed the chase with a 110-run fifth wicket partnership. Prithu lost his wicket with just six runs away from victory after scoring run-a-ball 53.
He hit seven boundaries and a six. Rahul remained unbeaten on 73, his 41-ball knock included 10 fours and three sixes. Bipin Khatri, Govinda Pradhan and Hari Chauhan took one wicket each for Province 4.
At the Mulpani Grounds, Province 7 were bowled out for what appeared a below par score of 125 all out in 31.3 overs. But they bowled their hearts out, particularly Sher Malla, to eke out a remarkable victory by dismissing Province 6 for 77 runs in 22.2 overs.
Province 7 had their No 3 batsman Sanju Damai to thank for to post what turned out to be a match-winning knock. Damai, who scored 54 with five fours and a six, was the only second batsman to score in double figures. Opener Surendra Chand chipped in with 25 off 26 deliveries. Tek Salami completed a five-wicket haul but his effort went all in vain.
Skipper Rabindra Jung Shahi (29) and Diwan Pun (13) were the only Province 6 batsmen to score in double digits as man-of-the-match Sher Malla took 5-21 while Binod Lama and Santosh Bhatta grabbed two wickets each to derail their chase.
Summaries
APF 242-5 in 36.3 overs (R Paudel 73*, P Baskota 53; B Khatri 1-37, G Pradhan 1-27) beat Province 4 239-9 in 50 overs (H Chauhan 57, B Shrestha 43; KS Airee 3-42, A Routela 2-26)
by five wickets
Man-of-the-match: R Paudel (APF)
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Province 7 125 in 31.3 overs (S Damai 54, S Chand 25; T Salami 5-12, D Pun 2-18) beat Province 6 77 in 22.2 overs (R Shahi 29, D Pun 13; S Malla 5-21, S Bhatta 2-4) by 48 runs
Man-of-the-match: S Malla
(Province 7)