KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31

Nepal Police Club recorded their second straight victory and Gandaki Province made winning start in the Prime Minister Cup National Cricket Tournament here today.

NPC thrashed Province-I by seven wickets at the Mulpani grounds. Batting first, Province-I were bowled out for a paltry 102 runs in 35.1 overs, while NPC raced to 105-3 with 216 balls to spare.

Province-I openers Niraj Mukhiya and Ankit Subedi put up 56 runs in 11 overs before they lost all 10 wickets in the space of 46 runs in a dramatic collapse, thanks to Lalit Rajbanshi's five-wicket haul.

Rajbanshi struck twice in two consecutive balls in the 12th over to be on hat-trick. Rajbanshi bowled top scorer Mukhiya in the first ball and he dismissed Sujan Thapaliya for a duck in the next delivery.

Mukhiya scored 37-ball 29 with the help of five fours. Subedi struck four boundaries in his 24 off 35 balls, while Bibek Anand Mehta, who contributed 17 off 46 balls that included one each four and six, was the only other batsman to score in double figure. Four of the Province-I batters failed to open their accounts.

Player-of-the-match Lalit Rajbanshi was the pick of the NPC bowlers taking 5-26 from 10 overs, while Sagar Dhakal ad Dipendra Singh Airee grabbed two wickets each. Rashid Khan pocketed one wicket.

In reply, Kushal Bhurtel and Shankar Rana added 69 runs for the second wicket after NPC lost opener Sunil Dhamala for a duck in the first ball of the innings. Bhurtel struck five fours and three sixes in his 28- ball 42, while Rana scored 24- ball 29 with the help of five boundaries.

Skipper Dipendra Singh Airee and Rashid Khan shared a 30-run partnership for the unbroken fourth wicket. Khan struck two fours in his unbeaten 18-ball 14, while Airee scored 13-ball 14 not out that included two boundaries. Firdosh Ansari and Siddhant Lohani bagged one wicket each for Province-I.

At the TU Stadium, Gandaki Province outplayed Sudurpashchim Province by 69 runs. Batting first, Gandaki posted 208-8 in their allotted 50 overs, while Sudurpashchim were packed for 139 runs in 32.4 overs.

Gandaki openers Arjun Kumal and Sameet Kandel made slow start putting up 68 runs in 23 overs. Kumal then added 42 runs for the second wicket with Bidhan Shrestha. Playerof-the-match Kumal top scored with 63 off 105 runs hitting 10 fours, while Sameer Kandel struck four boundaries in his 71-ball 26. Bidhan Shrestha and Avishek Basnet contributed 25 runs each, while Sandeep Chhetri hit one four and two sixes in his 22-ball 19.

Skipper Bipin Khatri (13) and Kamal Pariyar (13 not out) also scored in double figures. Kailash Ayer, Naraan Joshi and Sher Malla grabbed two wickets each for Sudurpashchim, while Naren Saud took one.

In reply, Sudurpashchim were in strong position at 100- 1 in 22 overs before a dramatic collapse saw them lose nine wickets for 39 runs in less than 11 overs. Sudurpashchim lost opener skipper Raju Rijal (one) before Gajendra Bohara and Milan Bohara shared a 98- run partnership for the second wicket. But they were dismissed in the space of four runs and Sudurpashchim failed to recover.

Milan Bohara top scored with 51 off 64 balls that included three fours and a six, while Gajendra struck five boundaries in his 68-ball 35. Basant Karki (10) was the only other batter to score on double figure, while three batsmen failed to open their accounts. Bipin Khatri took 4-43 for Gandaki, while Subash Bhandari (2-16) and Avishek Basnet (2-2) shared four wickets between them. Amrit Gurung and Kamal Pariyar bagged one wicket each.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 1, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.