Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal Police Club (NPC) defeated Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club by two wickets in Match No. 15 of the PM Men’s National Cricket Tournament on Friday.
Fielding first, NPC bundled out Nepal APF Club for a meager 94 runs in 27.4 overs and then overcame the target, losing eight wickets with 142 balls to spare.
Nepal APF made a poor start with the bat. Although opener Lokesh Bam scored 22 off 24, the other opener, Aasif Sheikh, fell for 10. Dipak Bohara (0) and Rohit Paudel (6) also fell cheaply. Although Sandeep Jora made a fighting 26 off 29 balls, he did not get support from the other end as Sumit Maharjan (1), Bhuvan Karki (0), Amar Routela (10), Kamal Airee (2), Kishore Mahato (4), and Abhishek Gautam (2) failed to contribute with the bat.
Lalit Rajbanshi claimed six wickets for NPC, while Sagar Dhakal, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, and Kushal Bhurtel took one wicket each.
NPC also struggled in the chase despite chasing a low score. Although Kushal Bhurtel scored 37, other batters didn’t contribute much. Arjun Saud fell for 11, Shankar Rana and Dilip Nath scored 8 and 3, respectively, while Captain Dipendra Singh Airee and Aarif Sheikh fell for 1 each. Gulshan Jha (12) and Rashid Khan (10) scored valuable runs as NPC continued its unbeaten run in the PM Cup.
Bhuvan Karki claimed three wickets for Nepal APF, while Abhishek Gautam and Rohit Paudel claimed two wickets each, and Kamal Singh Airee took one wicket.
Bagmati vs Sudurpashchim
Bagmati Province earned its first victory in the PM Cup, defeating Sudurpashchim Province by 55 runs in Match No. 14 on Friday.
Batting first at the ExtraTech Oval, Bagmati scored 266 runs for the loss of eight wickets. In reply, Sudurpashchim was all out for 211 runs in 47 overs.
Although Bagmati lost opener Rit Gautam (3) with just 11 runs on the board, the other opener, Ashutosh Ghiraiya, scored 58. He found support from Shubh Kansakar, who scored 77 off 68 balls, and Ishan Pandey (36). Captain Prithu Baskota and Pratish GC chipped in with 15 each, Suman Sunar scored an unbeaten 12, and Bibek Magar contributed 10 runs.
Hemant Dhami, Sher Malla, and Saurya Shrestha grabbed two wickets each for Sudurpashchim, while Narayan Joshi and Rahul Bhandari took one wicket each.
Although Sudurpashchim made a good start in the chase, adding 38 runs for the first wicket, it lost wickets at regular intervals. Opener Tek Rawat top-scored for the team with an 88-ball 45. Captain Narayan Joshi (39), Rahul Bhandari (26), and Kiran Thagunna (21) all got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Nischal Kshetri and Sher Malla scored 14 each.
Rijan Dhakal and Sonu Devkota claimed four wickets each, while Pratish GC took one as Bagmati earned its first win and points in the series.
Saturday’s Matches
- Koshi Province vs Tribhuvan Army Club
- Madhesh Province vs Nepal Police Club
