Kathmandu, March 25

Nepal APF Club recorded their third straight victory and Sudurpashchim Province won their second match in the Lalitpur Mayor Women's Championship here at the TU Stadium today.

APF defeated Koshi Province by seven wickets to remain at the top of the table.

Batting first, Koshi posted 87-5 in their allotted 20 overs before APF reached 88-3 with 11 balls to spare.

Koshi failed to post a challenging total despite top order batters scoring in 20s.

Kajal Shrestha top scored with 29 off 4 balls hitting one each four and six, while skipper Rubina Chhetry struck five fours in her 34-ball 24.

Apsari Begam contributed 22 off 36 balls. APF skipper Sita Rana Magar claimed 3-11, while Indu Barma took one wicket.

In reply, Mamta Chaudhary top scored with an unbeaten 21 off 28 balls that included a four, while Rana Magar struck three boundaries in her 20-ball 19. Barma hit two fours in her 29-ball 18, while opener Jyoti Pandey (11) and Roma Thapa (11 not out) chipped in valuable runs. Alisha Khadiya, Rubina Chhetry and Nisha Shah took one wicket each for Koshi.

APF skipper Rana Magar was named the player of the match for the third straight match.

In another match, Sudurpashchim Province outplayed Madhesh Province by seven wickets. Batting first, Madhesh were bowled out for 65 runs in 19 overs before Sudurpashchim raced to 66-3 with 57 balls to spare.

Opener Alisha Yadav and Saraswati Kumari contributed 15 runs each for Madhesh, while other batters failed to score in double figures.

Laxmi Saud was the pick of the Sudurpashchim bowlers taking 3-15, while Ritu Kanoujiya (2-4) and Samjhana Khadka (2-8) shared four wickets between them. Ishwori Bist and Kabita Joshi bagged one wicket each.

In reply, Sudurpashchim lost openers Kabita Kunwar (one) and Samjhana Khadka (nine) with just 10 runs on the board, while skipper Bindu Rawal (10) also fell cheaply. Player-of-thematch Kanoujiya and Rubi Poddar then took the team home with a 33-run partnership for the unbroken fourth wicket.

Kanoujiya remained unbeaten on 21 off 27 balls, while Poddar scored 14 not out off just 11 balls. Both the batters hit two boundaries each. Saraswati Kumari, Santoshi Chaudhary and Anuradha Chaudhary grabbed one wicket each for Madhesh.

APF are at the top of the five-team table with maximum six points from three matches, while Sudurpashchim are second on four. Koshi are next with two points, whereas Lalitpur Mayor XI and Madhesh are yet to open their accounts.

A version of this article appears in print on March 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.