Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Madhesh Province and Sudurpashchim Province won their respective matches of the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament on Monday.
Madhesh defeated Karnali by five wickets with 151 balls remaining to go to the top of the table, while Sudurpashchim saw off Lumbini Province by 12 runs.
Madhesh vs Karnali
Fielding first in Match No. 19 in Janakpur, Madhesh bundled out Karnali for 129 runs in the allotted 50 overs. They then achieved the target of 130 runs in 24.5 overs with five wickets remaining.
Opener Rabindra Shahi top-scored for Karnali with a 51-ball 40. Arjun Gharti made 24, Bipin Rawal and Dinesh Adhikari contributed 18 each, while captain Diwan Pun chipped in with 12 runs. Other Karnali batters failed to reach double digits.
Aashik Baitha claimed four wickets for Madhesh, while Arniko Yadav and Bishal Patel picked up two each, and Pradip Paswan had one wicket to his name.
In reply, Madhesh openers added 50 runs for the first wicket. Niraj Yadav scored 38 off 59 balls, while Mayan Yadav made 24 off 22 balls. Although captain Anil Sah (1) fell cheaply, Pawan Sarraf scored 17, while Arniko Yadav took Madhesh home with an unbeaten 32 off 25 balls.
Dipendra Rawal claimed three wickets for Karnali, while Diwan Pun and Prakash Jaisi picked up one each.
Sudurpashchim vs Lumbini
Batting first in Match No. 20 in Birgunj, Sudurpashchim were all out for 168 runs in 45.4 overs. However, they successfully defended the 169-run target, bundling out Lumbini for 156 runs in 40.2 overs.
Sudurpashchim top-order batters got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Openers Abhishek Pal and Prakash Pandey were out for 17 and 14, respectively, while Khadak Bohora made 10 and Kiran Thagunna scored 20. Deepak Bohora top-scored for the side with a 55-ball 30. No. 10 batter Hemant Dhami scored 29, while Narayan Joshi made 10 and Saurya Shrestha remained unbeaten on 10.
Santosh Yadav and Ajay Chauhan claimed four wickets each for Lumbini, while Sandesh Thapa picked up one.
In reply, Lumbini stumbled in the chase of a low total as their top four batters were back in the pavilion by 11.4 overs with just 35 runs on the board. Santosh Yadav tried to anchor the innings with a composed 67 off 84 balls. However, wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals at the other end. Only Dhurba Sunar, who made 36 off 49 balls, made a meaningful contribution.
Khadak Bohora and Sher Malla claimed three wickets each for Sudurpashchim, while Hemant Dhami picked up two, and Narayan Joshi and Lokendra Chanda had one wicket each.
