Tribhuvan Army Club entered the final of Prime Minister Cup One-Day National cricket tournament for the time in a row with a crushing 117-run victory over Province 3 on Wednesday.

On the back of a collective batting effort and a perfect finishing from skipper Binod Bhandari led Army to a tournament-high 309-6 in 50 overs. Province 3 hopes hinged on experienced duo of captain Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla in chase of a mammoth target but once they were gone, they struggled against Army spinners and were restricted to 192-9.
It will be a third consecutive final appearance for Army who have never been the clear winners of the 50-over tournament. They shared the trophy with Nepal Police Club after their final against Nepal Police Club was washed out due to rain in the first edition in 2017. Last year, they lost the title match against Nepal Armed Police Force Club.
At the TU Stadium, opener Hare Krishna Jha (12) fell early in the game before Raju Rijal and Hari Bahadur Chauhan (38) steadied the ship with a 73-run partnership for the second wicket. Rijal continued his consistent performance in the tournament with an 86-ball 51—his third half century in the tournament. Rijal’s patient innings included four boundaries and two sixes.
After the departure of the two set batsmen, Rohit Kumar Paudel and Rajesh Pulami Magar (29) added 49 runs for the fourth wicket. Paudel made a gritty 43 from 35 balls with four boundaries and a six. The real blow came from Bhandari who punished Province 3 bowlers to push the team towards a winning total.
Bhandari shared 63 runs for the seventh wicket with Kushal Malla (26 not out) in a 35-ball unbroken stand. Man-of-the-match Bhandari struck five sixes and as many fours in his 42-ball 75 not out. Nandan Yadav (2-41) and Jitendra Singh Thakuri (2-47) took four wickets between them. Left-arm spinner Surya Tamang was smashed for 91 runs in 10 overs.
Province 3 had a horrible start after they lost openers Rit Gautam (five) and Rabin Joshi (eight) with just 14 runs on the board. Khadka stepped in and together with Ishan Pandey added 34 runs for the second wicket before a brilliant piece of fielding from Chauhan got rid of the Province 3 captain. Chauhan sprinted from long on and made a full stretch dive to get hold of a catch near the straight boundary off Alam to dismiss Khadka (19).
Pandey added another 37 runs with Malla and the national team vice captain fell to Sushan Bhari, holing out a catch to Kushal at square leg. Province 3 headed towards a terrible collapse after they were restricted to 130-8 in 32.3 overs. Pandey, who came in the third over, saved Province 3 blushes adding 56 runs for the ninth wicket with Nandan Yadav (18). Another consistent batsman in the tournament, Pandey, scored 79 off 117 balls hitting four sixes and three boundaries. Alam took 3-27 from 10 overs and Karan KC snared 2-40 from eight. Paudel and Kushal also took a wicket each.
In the final on Saturday, Army will take on the winners of Thursday’s second semi-final match between APF and Nepal Police Club. The champions will get Rs 2 million and runners-up will get Rs 1 million.