KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 5

Sudurpashchim Province defeated Lumbini Province by six wickets to win the title of the Wai Wai Under-19 National Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.

Batting first, Lumbini were bowled out for a paltry 92 runs in 29.1 overs before Sudurpashchim raced to 93-4 with 174 balls to spare.

Milan Bohara of Sudurpashchim starred with the ball taking five-wicket haul that also earned him the player-of-thematch trophy.

Lumbini skipper Bishal Bikram KC's decision to bat first after winning the toss back fired as the batsmen failed to build partnerships.

They lost Dev Khanal (seven) with 27 runs on the board and never recovered.

Opener Akash Tripathi fought the lonely battle and Lumbini were placed at 75-4 in 21 overs. But they lost the last six wickets in the space of 17 runs.

Tripathi scored fighting 38 off 69 balls with the help of two boundaries, while Nar Sarki (11) was only other batter who contributed in double figure.

Milan Bohara was the pick of the Sudurpashchim bowlerstaking 5-15 from nine overs and he was ably supported by Hemant Dhami (2-13) and Naren Saud (2-14). Aakash Chand also bagged a wicket.

In reply, Sudurpashchim lost opener Deepak Bohara for a duck in the second ball of the innings before Dipak Bohara and skipper Anurag Singh added 48 runs for the second wicket. They were dismissedin the space of four runs as Sudurpashchim came under pressure at 52-3. Bohara hit two each fours and sixes in his 36-ball 25, while Singh scored 22 off 39 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Kurmi trapped Milan Bohara (six) in the 18th over to reduce Sudurpashchim to 71-4 but it was too late for Lumbini to stage a comeback and defend the low total. Gajendra Bohara and Sunil Chand took Sudurpashchim home without further loss. Bohara hit six fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 39 off just 19 balls, while Chand failed to open his accounts despite facing 11 balls.

Ramesh Kurmi took two wickets for Lumbini, while Nirmal Gurung and Avishek Gautam bagged one wicket each.

Milan Bohara of Sudurpashchim was declared the player of the series for his 170 runs and 16 wickets in seven matches. He earned Rs 15,000.

Bagmati's Pratik Shrestha, who scored 251 runs including a century, was named the best batsman of the tournament, while Dipesh Kandel of Province-I - who took 16 wickets in six matches - was named the best bowler. They received Rs 10,000 each.

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