Kathmandu, May 25

Nepal Police Club registered their second straight victory in the Prime Minister Cup One-day National Men’s Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.

NPC hammered Eastern Region by nine wickets to accumulate four points from two matches. Batting first, Eastern Region were bowled out for a paltry 104 runs in 37.1 overs before the departmental side raced to 105-1 in 17.1 overs.

Opener Sunil Dhamala scored an unbeaten half century for the NPC, while wicketkeeper Dilip Nath scored a quick fire 36 off 33 balls. Dhamala and Amit Shrestha (seven) put on 45 runs for the first wicket before the latter was dismissed in the last ball of the eighth over.

Man-of-the-match Dhamala and Nath then shared a 60-run partnership for the unbroken second wicket to steer the team home. Dhamala hit three each fours and sixes in his 49-ball 52. Bidhan Goswami was the lone Eastern bowler to take the wicket, returning with 1-19 from two overs.

Earlier, Eastern Region batsmen failed to build partnership and lost their wickets at regular interval. Veteran allrounder Mehboob Alam top scored for the team with 40 off 47 balls that included two fours and three sixes, while Amal Das, who struck two fours in his 27-ball 13, was the only other batsman to score in double figures.

Half of the Eastern batsmen returned to the pavilion with 52 runs on the board, while the regional side lost the last five wickets for just 12 runs. The 40-run partnership between Alam and Jugal Chaudhari (eight) for the sixth wicket was the highest for Eastern Region in the match.

Siddhant Lohani was the pick of the NPC bowlers taking 3-3 from 3.1 overs, while Lalit Bhandari (2-17) and Sushil Kandel (2-20) shared four wickets between them. Kushal Bhurtel and skipper Manjeet Shrestha also pocketed one wicket each.

With the victory, NPC lead the Group B table with four points, while another departmental side Tribhuvan Army Club have two points. Eastern Region and Far-western Region are yet to open their accounts. On Friday, Eastern will take on Far-western Region.