Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Karnali and Madhesh provinces won their respective matches in the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.
Karnali defeated Koshi by 16 runs, while Madhesh saw off Sudurpashcim by five wickets.
Karnali vs Koshi
Batting first in Match No. 9 in Janakpur, Karnali was all out for 151 runs. In reply, Koshi could only make 135 runs in 44.4 overs.
Bipin Shahi top-scored for Karnali with a 98-ball 63. Bipion Rawal contributed 32, while Sunil Dhamala made 19, and Captain Diwan Pun chipped in with 10 runs. Other Karnali batters failed to reach double digits.
Prem Kamat picked up four wickets for Koshi, while Gyanendra Shrestha took three, Sujan Thapaliya claimed two, and Bipin Mahato contributed one wicket.
Despite chasing a low score, Koshi batters failed to put up a fight. Dipesh Kandel top-scored with a 66-ball 26, while Shiwash Bajgain made 23, and Suman Shresha contributed 20. Shakib Haq and Ankit Subedi scored 17 each.
Dinesh Adhikari claimed five wickets for Karnali, while Diwan Pun and Prakash Jaishi picked up two each, and Dipendra Rawat chipped in with a wicket.
Madhesh vs Sudurpashchim
An all-round performance by Arniko Yadav helped Madhesh defeat Sudurpashchim by five wickets in Match No. 10 in Birgunj.
Fielding first, Madhesh restricted Sudurpashchim to 160 and achieved the target with five wickets and 98 balls remaining.
Sudurpashchim batters got the start but failed to convert into a big score. Opener Abhishek Pal top-scored for the side with a 45-ball 33, while Kiran Thagunna and Narayan Joshi made 23 each. Ashok Dhami made a not-out 19. However, other Sudurpashchim batters failed to reach double digits.
Arniko Yadav took three to bundle out Sudurpashchim for a low total. Pradip Paswan picked up two, while Rupesh Singh, Mohammad Adil Alam, Aashik Baitha and Pawan Sharraf contributed with a wicket each.
Arniko also starred with the bat, scoring a not-out 46 off 78 balls to take his team home in 33.4 overs. Although Madhesh’s top order failed to contribute much, Yadav found support from Mohammad Aadil Alam (34), Pawan Sarraf (21), and Rupesh Singh (16*).
Ashok Dhami claimed three wickets for Sudurpashchim while Sher Malla took two.
