KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 5

Nepal APF Club advanced to the semi-finals, while Madhesh Province registered their second consecutive victory in the Prime Minister's Cup National Cricket Tournament here today.

APF defeated Karnali Province by 44 runs for their third victory in four matches. Group A leaders APF made it to the last four with seven points, while Gandaki are at the second position with five points. Tribhuvan Army Club have two points with two matches on hand. Karnali, who faced their second straight defeat, and Sudurpashchim, who faced losses in three matches, have already crashed out from the group.

At the TU Stadium, APF were bowled out for 234 runs in 47.1 overs before Karnali were packed for 190 runs with 11 balls remaining. APF innings revolved around opener Aasif Sheikh, who scored a brilliant century. Player-of-the-match Sheikh struck 15 fours and a six in his 136-ball 130. Bhuvan Karki was the next best scoring 23 off 30 balls, while another opener Pradeep Airee contributed 120 and Lokesh Bam scored 10.

Sheikh and Airee put up 47 runs in side eight overs, while the wicketkeeper and Karki shared a 63-run partnership for the eighth wicket to rescue the team from 140-7 and help APF post a fighting total. Prakash Jaishi (3-57) and Dipendra Rawat (3-28) shared six wickets between them for Karnali, while Diwan Pun grabbed two and Dinesh Adhikari bagged one.

In reply, skipper Rabindra Shahi top scored for Karnali with 80 off 138 balls that included five fours and two sixes, while Bipin Shahi contributed 51-ball 34 hitting five boundaries. Arjun Gharti struck four fours and a six in his 21-ball 27, while Dinesh Adhikari scored 20 off 17 balls.

Mousom Dhakal was the pick of the APF bowlers taking 4-51, while Kamal Airee and Bhuvan Karki grabbed two wickets each. Puran BK and skipper Sharad Vesawkar claimed one wicket apiece.

At Mulpani, Madhesh Province outplayed Lumbini Province by 92 runs for their second consecutive victory.

The result sent Nepal Police Club, who were not in action today, into the semi-finals, while Madhesh put them in strong position for a place in the last four.

Group B leaders NPC have six points from three matches, while Madhesh are second on four. With one match each remaining to play, Lumbini and Province-I have two points each. Bottom-placed Bagmati, who lost three matches in a row, have already crashed out.

Batting first, Madhesh were bowled out for 259 runs in 48.4 overs, while Lumbini were packed for 167 runs with five balls remaining. Three Madhesh batsmen scored half centuries to help their team to a commanding total. Openers Santosh Karki and skipper Harishankar Shah set the tone with a 130-run partnership in 22 overs. They lost three wickets in the space of 24 runs to be 154-3 but Anil Sah and Bibek Yadav added 69 runs for the fourth wicket. Player-ofthe-match Shah top scored with 76 off 90 balls hitting 13 boundaries and a six, while Sah struck five fours and two sixes in his 59-ball 50. Opener Karki scored 50 off 60 balls. Bibek Yadav (21), Mohammad Aadil Alam (12) and Imran Sheikh (10) also contributed in double figures. Krishna Karki took 3-35 for Lumbini, while Anil Kharel grabbed two wickets.

In reply, Lumbini failed to recover after they were reduced to 21-3 inside 10 overs. Bishal Bikram KC was the top scorer with 51-ball 34 that included two each fours and sixes, while Krishna Karki struck four fours and a six in his 31 off 52 balls. Sandeep Rajali (23), Anil Kharel (22), Basir Ahmed (15) and Mohammad Husen (15) got starts but they failed to make significant contributions with the bat.

Rajesh Yadav (3-23) and Pradip Paswan (3-25) shared six wickets between them for Madhesh, while skipper Shah grabbed 2-25 and Rupesh Singh bagged one wicket.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 6, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.