KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 2

Gandaki Province registered their second victory, while Lumbini Province made winning start in the Prime Minister's Cup National Cricket Tournament here today.

Gandaki defeated Karnali Province by 32 runs at the TU Stadium. Batting first, Gandaki posted 208-9 in their allotted 50 overs before packing Karnali for 176 runs with 18 balls remaining.

Opener Arjun Kumal and Bidhan Shrestha added 67 runs for the second wicket after Sameer Kandel (four) was dismissed cheaply.

Shrestha then shared a 79- run partnership with Avishek Basnet to help Gandaki post a fighting total. Player-of-the match Basnet struck eight fours and six in his 45-ball 51.

Opener Kumal missed half century by a run and he hit four boundaries in his 88- ball knock, while wicketkeeper Shrestha scored 104- ball 46 that included six fours. Subash Bhandari (14) was the only other batsman to contribute in double figures as Gandaki faced a dramatic collapse to 208 from a strong position of 169-2 in 42 overs.

Anuj Chuj Chunara was the pick of the Karnali Province taking 4-51 from nine overs and he was ably supported by Prakash Jaishi (3-37) and Dinesh Adhikari (2-43).

In reply, Karnali were reduced to 22-3 inside nine overs before skipper Rabindra Shahi and Himanshu Shahi added 62 runs for the fourth wicket to bring the team back on track. Rabindra was dismissed in the 30th over and Karnali lost wickets at regular interval as Himanshu ran out of partner.

Himanshu remained unbeaten on 69 off 116 balls with the help of eight boundaries, while Rabindra struck five fours in his 84- ball 42. Prakash Jaishi (15) was the other batsman to contribute in double figure for Karnali.

Subash Bhandari (3-24) and Chandra Paudel (3-54) shared six wickets between them for Gandaki, while skipper Bipin Khatri grabbed 2-26. Kamal Pariyar and Avishek Basnet bagged one wicket each.

At the Mulpani grounds, Lumbini beat Bagmati Province by eight wickets. Batting first, Bagmati were bowled out for 154 runs in 38.1 overs before Lumbini raced to 155-2 with 86 balls to spare.

Chasing an easy target of 155 runs, Lumbini skipper Dev Khanal led from the front scoring an unbeaten 77 off 119 balls that included eight boundaries and two sixes, while Sandeep Rajaili scored 29 not out off 41 balls hitting two fours. They shared a 69-run partnership for the unbroken third wicket.

Khanal and wicketkeeper Prajjwol Thapa added 80 runs for the second wicket after opener Aakash Tripathi (three) was dismissed cheaply. Thapa hit four boundaries in his 42-ball 29. Rijan Dhakal and Pratis GC took one wicket each for Bagmati.

Earlier, skipper Gyanendra Malla was the top scorer for Bagmati with 33 off 46 balls that included four fours and a six, while Durgesh Thapa also hit four boundaries and six in his 39-ball 32.

Ashutosh Ghiraiya (22), Surya Tamang (17), Pratis GC (15) and Ramnaresh Giri (10) all got starts but they could not turn them into big knocks.

Player-of-the-match Anil Kharel claimed 4-30 for Lumbini, while Bishal Bikram KC (2-5) and Avishek Gautam (2-35) shared four wickets between them. Krishna Karki and Mohammad Husen bagged one wicket each.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 3, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.