Cricket
Skipper Chhetri shines in easy Province 1 win
Chettri was pick of the Province 1 bowlers with figures of 3-16 off four overs. She also contributed with the bat as she remained unbeaten on 26 off 45 balls to give eight-wicket win to her side.Sports Bureau
An allround performance from skipper Rubina Chhetri steered Province 1 to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Province 2 in the PM Cup Women’s Twenty20 cricket tournament in Mahendranagar on Friday.
Batting first Province 2 struggled to score runs freely and were eventually restricted to 71-9 in 20 overs. Opener Shanti Chaudhari top scored with a painstaking 14 from 48 deliveries, while Shova Ale and Saraswati Chaudhari chipped in 13 runs each. Chettri was pick of the Province 1 bowlers with figures of 3-16 off four overs. Sabnam Rai and Apsari Begam also took one wicket each while three Province 2 batswomen were run out.
Opener Kajal Shrestha gave Province 1 an electric start to their run chase scoring 19 off 14 balls with four hits to the fence. Santoshi Chaudhary bowled Shrestha in the fifth over but Chhetri remained calm at the other end leading her team to victory. The skipper remained unbeaten on 26 off 45 balls. The player-of-the-match struck three boundaries. Roma Thapa, batting at No 3, also chipped in 14. In another match, Province 5 defeated Gandaki Province by eight wickets. Gandaki were bowled out for 78 in 18.3 overs before Province 5 overcame the total losing two wickets in 12.2 overs.
Gandaki were reeling at 11-2 by the second over before Shristi Paudel and Sushila Gurung made notable contributions to help post a respectable total on the board. Gurung scored 19 off 26 balls with two hits to the fence, while Paudel slammed 11-ball 18 with four boundaries. Player-of-the-match Kritika Marasini took three while Sima Thapa claimed two wickets for Province 5. Nary Thapa, Saraswati Pun Magar and Laxmi Chaudhary also grabbed a wicket each.
Former national team skipper Nary Thapa helped Province 5 raced to victory scoring a quickfire 28 after openers Saraswati Gharti Magar (10) and Gita Gosain (20) had earlier laid the foundation for an easy chase. Thapa struck five fours in her unbeaten 19-ball knock. Gosain hit three fours in her 30-ball innings. Sushila Gurung snared both the Province 5 wickets to fall.