Kathmandu, May 24

Sushil Kandel completed a five-wicket haul and Amit Shrestha scored half century as Nepal Police Club thrashed Far-western Development Region by seven wickets in their Group B match of the first Prime Minister Cup One-day National Men’s Cricket Tournament here at the Tribhuvan University Stadium today.

Put into bat first, Far-west were bowled out for 170 runs with eight balls to spare before NPC raced to victory losing three wickets in 24.3 overs.

Far-west had a disappointing start with the bat as opener Surendra Chand (nine) was caught behind by Dilip Nath off Lalit Singh Bhandari in the fifth ball of the seventh over with only 25 runs on the board. Chand hit two boundaries. NPC’s Sushil Kandel put Far-west under pressure by claiming two wickets — Roshan Nepal (21 off 39) and Anil Kumar Thapa for a duck — in the 12th over as the regional team was reduced to 38-3.

However, Gyanendra Kuwar added 69 runs with Bhim Sharki, who scored 28 off 52, for the fourth wicket to consolidate the Far-west innings. Kuwar, who was caught by Nath off Aarif Sheikh for 49 off 88 balls in the last ball of 36th over, cracked five boundaries and Sharki hit two fours.

Kuwar further added 21 runs for the fifth wicket with Santosh Bhatta, who also reached double figures scoring 25 off 35 hitting the only six of the innings to keep the momentum going.

But Far-west lost last four wickets for a paltry 19 runs and were folded for a low total. Kandel was the most destructive bowler as he took five wickets giving away just 21 runs in his 10-over spell.

“I think I contributed for the team and I am happy for taking five wickets despite the pitch being a batting friendly one. I focused in line and length and that paid off for me and the team as well,” said Kandel, who was ably supported by Lalit Singh Bhandari (3-25) and Aarif Sheikh (1-21).

Chasing a modest target, NPC failed to get a desired start. Opener Shankar Rana saw his stumps rattled by Sagar Bhandari in the third over with only seven runs on the board.

But Amit Shrestha and Dilip Nath shared a 128-run partnership for the second wicket to take the team towards victory. Shrestha scored 63-ball 75 hitting eight boundaries and three sixes, while Nath scored 40 off 50 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six.

Dipendra Singh Airee remained unbeaten on 19-ball 27 that included six boundaries. Aarif Sheikh (eight) hit a boundary in the third ball of the 25th over bowled by Bikash Agri to finish the game. Agri (1-33) and Bhim Sharki (1-18) shared two wickets between them.

NPC skipper Manjeet Shrestha said his side executed the team plans properly. “We opted to field after winning the toss and were able to bowl the opponents to a low score and our batsmen also did well,” said Shrestha. Shrestha added that his side was a balanced one with talented players and the team will take one match at a time and prepare accordingly.

Far-west skipper Surendra Chand said his side could have done well if they had added 30 to 35 more runs on the board. “We fell 30 to 35 runs short and our bowlers were also not convincing,” said Chand, who lamented for not having enough training for the competition. “We are playing this tournament after playing just one 25-over match,” he added.

NPC’s Sushil Kandel was named the man-of-the-match and got Rs 5,000, while NPC received Rs 25,000 for winning the match. NPC will play their second match of the group against Eastern Development Region on Thursday.