KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 23

Mohammad Hussen took seven wickets as Lumbini thrashed Gandaki by nine wickets, while Province-I defeated Bagmati by 26 runs in the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket Tournament here today.

Batting first at the Mulpani grounds, Gandaki were all out for a paltry 23 runs in 14.2 overs before Lumbini raced to 26-1 in 5.5 overs. No player from Gandaki was able to score in double figures, while seven batsmen failed to open their accounts.

Player-of-the-match Hussen returned with 7-14 from seven overs, while Durgesh Gupta and Wasir Ahmad bagged one wicket each for Lumbini.

In reply, Lumbini lost opener Akash Gupta for a duck, bowled by Subash Bhandari, in the first over before Dev Khanal and Birat Bhandari took the team home without further loss.

Khanal struck four boundaries in his 20-ball 18 not out, while Bhandari remained unbeaten on eight off nine balls that included two fours.

At TU Stadium, Province-I were bowled out for 175 runs in 45.3 overs before packing Bagmati for 149 runs in 31.4 overs. Luv Kamat and Dipak Joshi top scored for Province-I with 33 runs each.

While Kamal struck five fours in his 69-ball knock, Joshi hit three fours and two sixes in his quick fire 33 off 23 balls.

Opener Sonu Ansari scored 32 off 74 balls hitting four boundaries, while Dipesh Kandel struck a four and two sixes in his 38-ball 23. Tilak Bhandari (3-24) and Krish Karki (3-23) shared six wickets between them for Bagmati, while Pratis GC claimed 2-35. Gautam KC and Bibek Magar also bagged one wicket apiece.

In reply, Bagmati failed to overcome the total despite fine knocks from Bipin Shahi and Bibek Magar. Shahi top scored with 45 off 57 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes, while Magar struck eight boundaries in his 51-ball 42. They added 86 runs for the third wicket to take the team score close to triple figures before Bagmati lost eight wickets for 51 runs.

Player-of-the-match Luv Kamat completed five-wicket haul claiming 5-26 from six overs and he was ably supported by Dipesh Kandel (3-40). Dipak Joshi also grabbed a wicket for Province-I.

A total of seven teams, one each from seven provinces, are taking part in the tournament which also serves as the selection for the U-19 Asia Cup. After the round robin league, top two sides will make to the final. Earlier, Managing Director of Chaudhary Group Nirvana Chaudhary and National Sports Council Vice-president Shiva Koirala inaugurated the tournament at the TU Stadium.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 24, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.