Birgunj, October 16:

Region No 1 (Biratnagar) skipper Manjit Shrestha took a hat-trick to guide his team to a 48-run victory over Region No 6 (Baitadi) and Region No 3 (Kathmandu) defeated Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) by 66 runs in the Sintez MM Twenty20 National Cricket Tournament here today.

Batting first, Biratnagar scored 135-9 before restricting Baitadi to 87 runs in 17.5 overs. Puspa Thapa scored 47 with seven hits to the fence while Ajay Rajbanshi chipped in with 29 for Biratnagar. Samir Chand took 3-19 for Baitadi.

In reply, Binod Bhandari played an explosive knock hitting three sixes and as many fours on his way to 38 runs. Man of the match Manjit, who earlier contributed 18 runs with the bat, dismissed Pradeep Airee, Chandra Saud and Binod Chhetri in consecutive deliveries. Santosh Baral also claimed three wickets for Biratnagar.

In the first match, Kathmandu scored 152-8 and dismissed Nepalgunj for 86 in 13.3 overs. Sanjay Shrestha top-scored with 36 runs for Kathmandu. Gyanendra Malla also struck 32 with five fours while Sharad Vesawkar made 28. Sandeep Shrestha took four and Nashir Ansari claimed three wickets for Nepalgunj.

For Nepalgunj, Rupesh Sharma contributed the highest 32 runs before their innings ended in the 14th over. Prithu Banskota took 5-6 off three overs which earned him the man of the match award.

Region No 2 (Birgunj) will take on Region No 3 (Kathmandu) and Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) will meet Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) on Friday.