KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 25

Province-II and Province-I recorded victories in the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket Tournament here today.

Province-II defeated Sudurpashchim Province by two wickets at the TU Stadium.

Batting first, Sudurpashchim were all out for 290 runs in 41.4 overs before Province-II reached 292-8 with five balls to spare.

Sudurpashchim rode on century from Arjun Saud and a solid half century from Lokesh Bam to post the challenging total but their efforts went in vain.

Wicketkeeper Saud scored a quick fire 116 from 85 balls with the help of 14 boundaries and five sixes, while Bam struck 13 fours and a six in his 73-ball 81.

Naresh Bhatta scored 30 off 33 balls with the help of five boundaries, while Basant Karki hit three sixes in his 23- ball 27 and captain Gajendra Bohara scored 16 off 15 balls that included two fours and a six. Pradi Paswan took 3-31 for Province-II, while Bibek Yadav and Ajay Yadav grabbed two wickets each.

In reply, Adil Ansari top scored for Province-I with a quick fire 87 not out off 43 balls that included seven boundaries and six sixes. He also earned the player-ofthe-match award for his match-winning innings.

Amit Yadav missed the half century by a run and he hit three fours and two sixes in his 75-ball knock, while Gulsan Jha struck two fours and four sixes in his 53-ball 46.

Rohan BK (23), Santosh Karki (21), Aashish Jha (16), skipper Bibek Yadav (14) and Pradip Paswan (nine not out) also chipped in valuable runs for Province-II. Sher Malla and Narendra Saud took three wickets each for Sudurpashchim, while Hemant Dhami and Lokesh Bam grabbed one each.

In another match, Province-I beat Karnali by 76 runs. Batting first, Province-I were all out for 239 runs in 50 overs before packing Karnali for 163 runs in 38 overs. Bibek Anand Mehta top scored for Province-I with 59 off 82 balls that included five fours and two sixes, while skipper Ankit Subedi struck seven boundaries in his 33-ball 37.

Sonu Mandal (25), Sonu Ansari (24), Dipak Joshi (23 not out), Sumit Neupane (18), Rakesh Shah (12) and Shrawan Kisku (12) chipped in valuable runs. Anuj Kumar Chanara, Rupak Dahal and Yunish Bikram Singh Thakuri grabbed two wickets each for Karnali.

In reply, Rupak Dahal scored an unbeaten 41 off 50 balls hitting two fours and three sixes, while Manish Tiwari scored a quick fire 39 off 28 balls hitting four fours and two sixes. Raj Prasad Shah was the next best Karnali batsman scoring 24 runs.

Player-of-the-match Shrawan Kisku was the pick of the Province-I bowlers taking 4-34, while Luv Kamat grabbed 3-36 and Gaurav Katuwal claimed 2-27.

Dipesh Kandel pocketed one wicket.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 26, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.