Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Lumbini Province and Sudurpashchim Province won their respective matches of the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament on Monday.
Lumbini defeated Koshi Province by 148 runs, while Sudurpashchim saw off Karnali Province by four wickets with 124 balls remaining.
Lumbini too strong for Koshi
Batting first in Match No. 5 in Janakpur, Lumbini were all out for 249 runs in 49.3 overs. The opening pair of Ranjeet Khadka and captain Dev Khanal added 86 runs for the first wicket. Khanal scored 92 off 100 balls, while Khadka contributed 30.
However, Lumbini’s middle and lower-order batters failed to build on the strong platform. Aakash Tripathi scored 12, Prajjwol Thapa fell for seven, Dhurba Sunar made one, and Sumit Shrestha was out for just nine. Santosh Yadav offered some resistance with a 62-ball 48, while Rajendra Bam remained unbeaten on 16. The rest of the batters failed to reach double figures.
For Koshi, captain Sujan Thapaliya claimed four wickets, while Dipesh Kandel picked up two. Bipin Mahato and Prem Kamat took one wicket each.
In reply, Koshi’s batting line-up struggled in the chase of 250. Opener Suraj Shrestha was dismissed for a duck, while the other opener, Shakib, made seven. Although Ankit Subedi scored 30, the rest of the Koshi batters failed to contribute significantly. Dipesh made 15, and Sujan scored 11, while others failed to reach double digits.
Santosh Yadav picked up four wickets for Lumbini, while Rajendra Bam claimed three. Nirmal Gurung took two wickets, and Sandesh Thapa added one.
Karnali helpless against Sudurpashchim
Karnali suffered a four-wicket defeat against Sudurpashchim in Match No. 6 of the PM Cup.
Batting first in Birgunj, Karnali were bowled out for 119. Karnali made a poor start with the bat as opener Rabindra Shahi was dismissed for a duck. Although Sunil Dhamala (28) and Arvind Gharti (13) steadied the innings briefly, and Bipin Rawat scored 33, the middle and lower order collapsed, with no other batter reaching double figures.
Hemant Dhami starred for Sudurpashchim with six wickets. Captain Sher Malla, Narayan Joshi, Ashok Dhami, and Milan Bohara took one wicket each.
Chasing a target of 120, Sudurpashchim also lost wickets at regular intervals. Openers Abhishek Pal (6) and Raju Rijal (7), along with No. 4 batter Naren Bhatta (7), fell cheaply. Khadak Bohora (23) and Kiran Thagunna (26) helped stabilize the innings.
Although Narayan Joshi was dismissed for a duck, Milan Bohara (18*) and Sher Malla (10*) guided the team home with more than 20 overs to spare.
For Karnali, Anuj Chanara and Diwan Pun picked up two wickets each, while Prakash Jaishi and Dipendra Rawat claimed one apiece.
