PM Cup: TAC thrash Suduprashchim, NPC defeat Karnali

Himal Press 09 Apr 2026

PM Cup: TAC thrash Suduprashchim, NPC defeat Karnali

(Left) TAC Captain Binod Bhandari raises bat after scoring a century, while bowler Basir Ahamad celebrates his five-wicket haul; and (right) NPC batters run between the wicket during their match against Karnali Province.

KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) and Nepal Police Club (NPC) won their respective matches of the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament on Thursday.

TAC continued its unbeaten run and moved to the top of the table with a seven-wicket thrashing of second-placed Sudurpashchim Province, while NPC defeated Karnali Province by 48 runs.

TAC vs Sudurpashchim
Batting first in the top of the table clash in March No. 34 in Janakpur, Sudurpashchim folded for a paltry 150 runs in 38.1 overs. In reply, TAC scored 155, losing three wickets with nearly 30 overs remaining.

Sudurpashchim made a poor start with the bat and were down for 98/9 within 30 overs. Only two Sudurpashchim top-order batters reached double digits – openers Abhishek Pal and Khadak Bohora scored 24 and 13, respectively. No.8 batter Narayan Joshi scored a 60-ball 63 to give some respectability to the total.

Basir Ahamad picked up five wickets to bundle out Sudurpashchim cheaply. Shahab Alam and Naren Saud claimed two wickets each, while Aakash Chanda had a wicket to his name.

Although TAC lost opener Trit Raj Dash for five, their other opener Binod Bhandari struck a century in just 100 balls. Kushal Malla (26) and Bhim Sharki (16) took TAC home with 178 balls to spare.

Sher Malla claimed two wickets for TAC, while Milan Bohora picked up one.

NPC vs Karnali
Batting first in Match No. 35 in Birgunj, NPC scored 261 for the loss of eight wickets. They then bundled out Karnali Province for 213 in 45.2 overs to move to third on the points table.

Opener Dinesh Kharel struck 82 off 100 balls for NPC. Although Shankar Rana (18) and Bharat Magar (0) couldn’t contribute much, Kharel found support at the other end from Amit Shrestha (32) and Rashid Khan (24). Captain Aarif Seikh scored 27, Dilsad Ali made 23, and Karan KC remained unbeaten at 21.

Karnali batters got the start but failed to convert it into a big total. Arjun Ghari top-scored for the side with a 56-ball 46. Sunil Dhamala made 34, Bipin Rawal contributed 28, and Dinesh Adhikari and Captain Diwan Pun chipped in with 16 each. Bipin Shahi, Prakash Jaisi, and Rabindra Shahi made 15, 14, and 12, respectively.

Lalit Rajbanshi claimed five wickets for NPC, while Karan KC picked up three, and Dipak Chand and Aarif Shiekh accounted for a wicket each.