Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal Police Club (NPC) continued its unbeaten run in the PM Cup Men’s Cricket Tournament, defeating Gandaki Province by seven wickets on Thursday.
Fielding first at the Siddhartha Cricket Stadium, NPC restricted Gandaki to 92 runs in 23.2 overs and overcame the target, losing three wickets in just 16 overs.
Gandaki delivered a forgettable performance with the bat as four of its batters were out for a duck. Arjun Kumal scored 48 off 63, and Rohit Chand and Subash Bhandari chipped in with 10 runs each. Other Gandaki batters failed to reach double digits.
Lalit Rajbanshi and Gulshan Jha rattled Gandaki’s innings, claiming five and four wickets, respectively.
Although NPC was down to 11/2 in 3.1 overs in the chase, a quick-fire half-century by Captain Dipendra Singh Airee, who scored 54 off just 23 balls, laid the foundation for the victory. Arjun Saud and Dilip Nath finished the innings not out at 18 and 10, respectively.
Bipin Khatri and Subash Bhandari claimed a wicket each for Gandaki.
Lumbini Province vs Sudurpashchim Province
Sudurpashchim snapped Lumbini’s three-match winning run with a five-wicket victory at ExtraTech Oval, Bhairahawa, in Match No. 27 of the PM Cup.
Batting first, Lumbini folded for 116 runs in 44.1 overs. Sudurpashchim overcame the target, losing five wickets in 31.1 overs.
Lumbini made a poor start with the bat as its top three batters were back in the pavilion with just seven runs on the board. However, Captain Dev Khanal (41) and Prajjwol Thapa (30) steadied Lumbini’s innings. However, Lumbini’s batting crumbled after these two set batters were out in the space of four balls, and the team was all out for 116 runs.
Hemant Dhami took four wickets for Sudurpashchim, while Saurabh Shrestha, Sher Malla, and Milan Bohara had a wicket each to their names.
Despite chasing a low total, Sudurpashchim made a poor start with the bat, losing openers Tek Rawat (4) and Khadak Bohara (11) with just 18 runs on the board. However, Kiran Thagunna (43) and Narayan Joshi (25) batted through the end to earn the team’s second victory in the tournament. Prakash Pandey contributed 22 runs.
Ramesh Kurmi claimed two wickets, while Nirmal Gurung, Ajay Chauhan, and Biprason KC contributed with a wicket each.
Tribhuvan Army Club vs Madhesh Province
Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) suffered its first loss in the PM Cup, conceding a three-wicket defeat against Madhesh Province in Match No. 28 on Thursday.
Batting first, TAC scored 217 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Madhesh chased down the target in 48 overs to earn its second win in the tournament.
Bhim Sarki top-scored for TAC, scoring 89 off 126 balls. Santosh Karki and Kushal Malla contributed 33 and 24 not out, respectively, while Bibek Yadav, Trit Raj Das, and Binod Bhandari chipped in with 16, 14, and 11 runs, respectively.
Rupesh Singh, Kamal Gupta, and Pawan Sarraf claimed two wickets each for Madhesh, while Ranjit Kumar took one wicket.
Although Madhesh lost openers Mayan Yadav (10) and Shailendra Sah (15) with just 26 runs on the board, Captain Anil Shah (45), Harishankar Shah (37), and Pawan Sarraf (37) scored valuable runs to keep the team on the hunt. Rupesh Singh and Nikhil Singh scored an unbeaten 38 and 14, respectively, to take Madhesh home with two overs to spare.
