Eastern Development Region and Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club set the title clash of the Prime Minister Cup Women’s National Twenty20 cricket tournament on Saturday. 

In the semi-final matches at the Fapla grounds, Eastern rode on a half century from Kajol Shrestha to ease to a 53-run victory over Central Region. Title contenders APF, meanwhile, hammered hosts Far-Western by 81 runs following a half century from opener Sita Rana Magar.

Electing to bat first in the first match, Shrestha, also a national team cricket, struck 55 runs to lift her side to 119-2 in 20 overs. Their skipper Rubina Chhetri then starred with the ball as Central were 66 all out in the last ball of their innings.

Chhetri returned the figures of 3-6 from four including a maiden, while Sabnam Rai, Santoshi Chaudhary and Sangita Rai also took a wicket each. Kanchan Shrestha (21) and Sita Shrestha (17) were the only Central batswomen to make runs in double digits.

Earlier, player-of-the-match Shrestha laid the foundation for Eastern victory after she combined with Apsari Begam to forge a match-winning 86-run partnership for the third wicket. Begam contributed 32 runs to the total, while skipper Chhetri chipped in 14. Roji Kadari took one wicket for the losing side.

APF were put in to bat in the second semi-final but Farwest’s decision backfired as the departmental side notched up 131-4 in 20 overs. Sarita and Karuna Bhandari then took three wickets each as Farwest were all out for 51 in 19 overs. 

Nisha Bhatta (11) resisted APF’s star-studded bowling line up for a while reaching double digits. Anjali Chand also took two wickets with player-of-the-match Sita also getting one scalp.

It was Sita who had set the tone for APF sharing 61 runs for the first wicket with her opening partner Jyoti Pandey who made 18 runs. After Pandey’s departure, Sita added another 40 runs for the second wicket with Sarita as Farwest continued to play under pressure. Sita made 51 and Sarita made an invaluable contribution of 37 runs.

Suman Bista, Laxmi Saud and Nisha Bhatta took a wicket each for Farwest. The final will be played at the same venue on Sunday where the two teams will faceoff for the second time in the tournament. APF had beaten Eastern by four wickets in their group stage game. In a tournament organised by the National Sports Council, the champions will receive Rs 500,000 and the runners-up will get Rs 200,000.