Heartland College, Sudur Paschimanchal Academy (SPA) and Capital College and Research Centre (CCRC) entered the semi-finals of the College Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament on Thursday.

Heartland stunned title contenders Golden Gate College, a team led by national team skipper Paras Khadka, by 19 runs. SPA edged Triton by seven runs and CCRC eased to a 10-wicket victory over Saipal Academy in their respective quarter-final matches.

Heartland, led by former U-19 skipper Bhuwan Karki, made 129-8 before skittling out Golden Gate for just 110 runs in 19.1 overs. Man-of-the-match Karki (3-17) and Aashish Pokharel (3-15) shared six wickets as Golden Gate were already out of the game at 47-7 in 10 overs. Sompal Kami and Kushal Bhurtel (16) raised some hopes with a 36-run stand for the eighth wicket before Pradeep Airee removed both batsmen in a space of 20 runs to seal the semi-final spot. Kami top scored with a 38-ball 42 that included four sixes.

Heartland didn’t have big scorers despite openers Subhendu Pandey and Mahesh Chhetri (15) adding 38 runs for the first wicket. Pandey made 26 off 18 with two fours. Bipin Chandra and Airee chipped in 19 runs each. Aarif Sheikh took 3-31, while Sushil Kandel and Khadka took two wickets apiece.

SPA rode on a half century from opener Sandeep Sunar to post 144-6 in 20 overs. After a brief rain interruption, Triton were provided with a revised target of 114 in 15 overs but they managed only 106-6. Antim Thapa and Rupesh Srivastav (19 not out) kept Triton in the hunt with a 48-run unbroken partnership for the sixth wicket but to no avail.

Thapa hammered four sixes and a boundary in his 14-ball 36 not out. Binod Lama (3-19), Santosh Bhatt (2-25) and Rahul Singh (2-31) shared seven wickets between them for SPA. Man-of-the-match Sunar was at the centre of SPA innings, smashing 65 off 43 balls with five fours and three sixes. Raju Rijal was their next best scorer with 22 off 21. Srivastav and Jitendra Mukhiya took two wickets each for Triton.

The match between CCRC and Saipal was postponed for Thursday due to consistent rain a day earlier, and it was reduced to nine-over-a-side from where the latter made 60-3. Opener Ishan Pandey did the bulk of scoring with a 21-ball 27 with two boundaries. CCRC replied with 63-0 in 6.3 overs after openers Sunil Dhamala (25) and Anil Mandal (27) punished Saipal attack. Man-of-the-match Mandal hit four boundaries in 23 deliveries and Dhamala’s 16-ball knock included three fours and a six.