Province No 2 and Province No 7 won their respective Group ‘A’ matches of the first Manmohan Memorial Inter-Province U-16 National cricket tournament at the TU grounds on Friday.

Province 7 crushed Province 5 by 71 runs after posting a mammoth 169-8 in 30 overs. Man-of-the-match Narendra Sawad and Narayan Joshi picked up three wickets each as Province 5 dismissed for 98 in 23.4 overs. Province 5 had a decent start after openers Kushal Malla and Bipin Neupane (12) began with a 46-run opening wicket stand.

But once Malla was run out, Sawad and Joshi wreaked havoc as Province 5 lost 10 wickets for 52 runs. Malla, who recently featured in the Dhangadhi Premier League, made 32 off 23 with five boundaries and a six. Sawad was economical in his 3-14 from six overs. Bishal Bikram KC (17) and Rahul Kumar Luniya (16) were other batsmen to reach double figures.

Earlier, Rajan Singh and Suwash Ayer (20) shared 50 runs for the second wicket before Binod Khatri lifted the innings with a quick fire 52 from 37 balls hitting three sixes and as many boundaries. Singh made 37 from 59 balls with three boundaries. Luniya and Nabin Bhattarai took two wickets each for Province 5.

In the second match, man-of-the-match Nikhil Singh took 4-10 from six overs to lead Province 2 to seven-wicket victory over Province 4. Electing to bat first, Province 4 were 100 all out in 28.3 overs and Province 2 replied with 101-3 in 13.5 overs. Opener Imran Sheikh led the chase with a 29-ball 33 hitting five fours and a six. Trit Raj Das contributed 28 from 23 balls with six hits to the fence.

Province 4 were reduced to 1-2 but Anit Baral and Ishan Shrestha (23) tried to consolidate the innings with a 40-run third wicket partnership. Once Singh dismissed Shrestha, Province 4 batting order caved in. Baral made 29 from 75 deliveries with two boundaries. B Yadav (3-30) and Byash Yadav (2-13) ably supported Singh sharing five wickets between them.