Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Madhesh Province began its PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament in style, securing a 165-run victory over Koshi Province in Match No. 7.
Batting first at Siddhartha Cricket Stadium in Rupandehi on Tuesday, Madhesh scored 284 runs for the loss of six wickets, with three of its batters striking half-centuries. In reply, Koshi was bowled out for 119 runs in 33 overs.
Although Madhesh lost opener Mayan Yadav for 10, Captain Anil Sah (75) and Harishankar Sah added 87 runs for the second wicket. Despite losing Harishankar (29) and Rohan BK (0) in quick succession, Captain Sah found support from Pawan Sarraf, who scored 92 off 85 balls. Dipesh Das also contributed 56 off 60 balls.
Prakash Karki and Bipin Mahato took two wickets each for Madhesh, while Firdosh Ansari and Dipesh Kandel claimed one wicket each.
Chasing the highest target in the tournament so far, Koshi lost both openers Shirag Sah and Ankit Subedi for ducks. Although Shakim Haq scored 25, he lacked support from the other end as Aashish Bhattarai and Suvan Gahatraj fell for 3 and 9, respectively. Sujan Thapaliya (24), Firdosh Ansari (21), and Dipesh Kandel (20) all got starts but failed to convert them into big scores.
Rupesh Singh claimed five wickets for Madhesh, while Rajesh Yadav contributed three. Harishankar Sah and Pradip Paswan took one wicket each.
Gandaki vs Karnali
Gandaki Province defeated Karnali Province by four wickets (with more than 20 overs remaining) in Match No. 8 of the PM Cup.
Batting first at the Deukhuri Cricket Stadium in Lamahi, Karnali was bundled out for 91 runs in 27.2 overs. In reply, Gandaki scored 95 for the loss of six wickets in 29.1 overs.
Karnali lost opener Sunil Dhamala for a duck with just one run on the board. Bipin Rawal (15) and Bipin Shahi (20) steadied the innings with a 26-run partnership. However, wickets began falling at regular intervals after the partnership was broken in the ninth over. Himanshu Shahi scored 12, and Arjun Gharti contributed 17 off 20 balls. Other Karnali batters failed to reach double digits.
Chandra Paudel, Subash Bhandari, and Bipin Khatri took three wickets each for Gandaki, while Sandeep Parajuli and Amrit Gurung grabbed one wicket each.
Despite chasing a low total, Gandaki lost its three top-order batters with just 13 runs on the board by the fifth over. However, Deepak Dumre scored an unbeaten 50 off 78 balls, and Sujan Gautam contributed 22 off 46 balls to guide Gandaki to victory with more than 30 overs to spare.
Diwan Pun claimed three wickets for Karnali, while Dipendra Rawat took two and Unish Thakuri secured one.
Wednesday’s Matches
- Sudurpashchim Province vs Tribhuvan Army Club
- Koshi Province vs Nepal Police Club
