Allrounder Ritesh Baral took seven wickets as Cricket Zone 3 Kathmandu beat Cricket Zone 5 Nepalgunj by nine wickets in the inaugural match of the Birendra Memorial National league cricket tournament 2002 here on Tuesday.

In the match held at the Tribhuvan University (TU) ground, Kathmandu overcame the target of just 47 runs set by their opponents in the first innings for the loss of one wicket in 6.3 overs.

Opener Paresh Lohani remained unbeaten on 19 off 20 balls including a six and a hit to the fence, while Nirajit Rimal also scored 19 off 21 balls including a boundary before being run out. The other not out batsman Nepali international Bardan Chalise was yet to open his account when the match ended.

Earlier, electing to bat first after winning the toss, Cricket Zone 5 Nepalgunj were bowled out for 46 runs in 26.3 overs. Opener Rafiq Ansari scored seven off 18 balls before returning to the pavilion being bowled by Ritesh, while other opener Arun Thapa failed to open his account and was caught by Paresh Lohani off the bowling of Ritesh.

Other four following batsmen Dhirendra Bahadur, Rohit Sharma, Ganesh Shahi and Mohammad Tajuddin returned to the pavilion before they could open their accounts.

Dhan Bahadur Chhetri, the only batsman to have crossed double figures scored 15 off 56 deliveries before being bowled Raju Basnet. Manoj Raj Joshi remained unbeaten on three runs.

For Kathmandu, Ritesh Baral took seven wickets conceding 14 runs in 6.3 overs, while Pratik Pradhan, Maheshwor Shrestha and Raju Basnet grabbed one wicket apiece. Ritesh Baral of the winning team was adjudged the man of the match.

According to the draw, Cricket Zone 2 is scheduled to play against Cricket Zone 5 at the same venue. The 12-day tournament is being organised by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) under the sponsorship of Gorkha Brewery Pvt Ltd.