Sports
Easy wins for NPC, Province 1
Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Province No 1 registered convincing victories in the Prime Minister Cup One-Day national cricket tournament on Monday.Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Province No 1 registered convincing victories in the Prime Minister Cup One-Day national cricket tournament on Monday.
NPC hammered Province No 7 by 174 runs under Duckworth Lewis method after posting a tournament-high 324-6 in 50 overs on a back of half centuries from opener Sunil Dhamala and Aarif Sheikh. At the Mulpani Cricket Ground, Province 1 got the better of Province 2 by 68 runs—also under D/L method in a rain-affected day.
At the TU grounds, a star-studded NPC team punished a wayward bowling from Province 7 who were given a revised target of 305 from 37 overs following rain interruption. Dipendra Singh Airee then picked up four wickets to restrict Province 7 to 130-7.
No 5 batsman Arun Airee was the lone fighter for Province 7 scoring an 88-ball 70 with five fours and three sixes. Roshan Nepali (13) and Santosh Bhatta (10) were other batsmen to reach double figures. Dipendra returned the figures of 4-19 from eight overs. Seamer Lalit Singh Bhandari also took 2-29 from seven.
Earlier, Sunil and Dilip Nath (27) gave a decent start to NPC adding 92 runs for the first wicket. Sunil continued to hold the innings with Dipendra (27), Kushal Bhurtel (22) and Aarif Sheikh before running himself out for a composed 83 off 113 balls. He hit nine boundaries.
Aarif lifted the innings smashing five sixes and two boundaries in his 37-ball 57 and in the process shared 58 runs for the fifth wicket with skipper Manjeet Shrestha. Manjeet hit a 33-ball 49 not out with four boundaries and three sixes. Siddhant Lohani also chipped in 26 off 14 with three fours and a six. Sher Malla took two wickets for Province 7.
In Mulpani, a half century from opener Sandeep Dhungana and a match-winning eighth wicket partnership between Firdosh Ansari and Sarwan Yadav guided Province 1 to 223-7 in 50 overs. Provided with a revised target of 214 from 34 overs, Province 2 were bundled out for just
130 runs in 30 overs after their middle order caved in against a tight bowling from Province 1.
Opener Hari Shankar Sah top scored for Province 2 making a 66-ball 44 with six hits to the fence. Rahul Pratap Singh (22), Kundan Singh (16) and Ritesh Singh (10) were other batsmen to reach double figures. Pushpa Thapa (3-23) and Minas Thapa (3-29) shared six wickets while Manoj Tamang picked up two scalps.
Province 1 had Sandeep to thank for in reaching three figures inside 25 overs after the opener struck 51 runs, his a 69-ball knock included eight boundaries. The match was not yet safe for them after Samsad Sheikh took four wickets to reduce Province 1 to 149-7 in 40.2 overs. But Firdosh and Sarwan put on an unbroken 74-run stand for the eighth wicket to give their side a challenging total.
Firdosh scored 37 off 33 deliveries with two hits over the fence and Sarwan contributed 34 off 36 with two fours and a six. Samsad returned with the figures of 4-32 and Mehboob Alam took 2-32 in their miserly 10-over spells.
Summaries
Province One 223-7 in 50 overs (S Dhungana 51, F Ansari 37, S Yadav 34; S Sheikh 4-32, M Alam 2-32) beat Province Two 145 in 30 overs (H Shah 44, RP Singh 22; P Thapa 3-23, M Thapa 3-29) by 68 runs under Duckworth Lewis method
Man-of-the-match: P Thapa
Nepal Police Club 324-6 in 50 overs (S Dhamala 83, A Sheikh 57, M Shrestha 49*; S Malla 2-50, S Bhatta 1-34) beat Province Seven 130-7 in 37 overs (A Airee 70*; DS Airee 4-19, LS Bhandari 2-29) by 174 runs under Duckworth Lewis method
Man-of-the-match: S Dhamala