Himal Press 
Gandaki's Arjun Kumal raises his bat after scoring a ton against Madhesh Province. Photo: CAN
KATHMANDU: Gandaki Province secured its second victory in the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament, defeating Madhesh Province by 13 runs in the one-over eliminator on Monday.
The match at the Siddhartha Cricket Ground went into a tie-breaker after both teams finished tied at 246 runs each in their 50 overs. Gandaki scored 22/2 in their eliminator over while restricting Madhesh to just 9 runs.
Earlier, Madhesh batted first and scored 246 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Rohan BK scored 64, while Harishankar Shah and Rupesh Singh scored 51 each and Pawan Sarraf contributed 33 runs. Sunny Sah and Bishal Patel chipped in with 15 and 12 runs, respectively.
Bipin Khatri and Kamal Pariyar took two wickets each for Gandaki, while Amrit Gurung and Sandeep Parajuli got a wicket apiece.
In reply, Gandaki’s chase was powered by Arjun Kumal’s brilliant 106 off 140 balls. However, other batters failed to make substantial contribution. Dinesh Budhamagar and Sudip Aryal scored 34 each, Captain Bipin Khatri contributed 26, and Subash Bhandari and Kamal Pariyar chipped in with 13 and 11 runs, respectively.
Bishal Patel grabbed four wickets, while Rupesh Singh, Ranjit Kumar, Pradip Paswan and Pawan Sarraf claimed a wicket each for Madhesh.
Nepal APF Club vs Lumbini Province
Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club has climbed third into the table with a third straight win in the PM Cup.
The departmental side defeated Lumbini Province by seven wickets in Match No 39 at the ExtraTech Oval. Batting first, Lumbini scored 223 runs for the loss of eight wickets. APF achieved the target in 41.5 overs losing three wickets.
Captain Dev Khanal (63) top-scored for Lumbini, while opener Mrinal Gurung contributed 55, and Akash Tripathi, Prajjwol Thapa and Nirmal Gurung chipped in with 22, 30 and 12 runs, respectively. Other Gandaki batters failed to reach double figures.
Although APF lost both openers with 31 runs on board in the chase, Puran BK (72*) and Captain Rohit Paudel (71) steadied the innings. Sundeep Jora scored an unbeaten 21.
Rajendra Bam took all three wickets for Lumbini.
Bagmati Province vs Karnali Province
Bagmati Province defeated Karnali by nine wickets in Match No. 40 of the PM Cup.
Batting first, Karnali experienced a batting collapse and folded for 59 runs in just 19.1 overs. Bagmati overcame the target losing one wicket with 261 balls remaining.
Except Sunil Dhamala (15) no other Karnali batters reached double figures.
Rijan Dhakal and Surya Tamang claimed five and four wickets, respectively, to bundle out Karnali cheaply.
In reply, Bagmati openers added 45 runs for the first wicket. After Ishan Pandey (22) fell in the fourth over, Ashutosh Ghiraiya (19*) and Shubh Kansakar (16*) took Bagmati through in 6.3 overs.
Dipendra Rawat took the only wicket for Karnali.
