KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 12
Nepal APF Club defeated Tribhuvan Army Club by four wickets to win the title of the Prime Minister's Cup National Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.
The match was reduced to 40-over-a-side after a delay of two hours due to controversial inclusion of Sompal Kami in the TAC squad. Kami was replaced by Anil Mandal after he was diagnosed with dengue. But the controversy aroused after TAC included Kami in the starting-XI for the final match and Nepal APF Club protested the move.
TAC had included Kami in the squad following approval from the technical committee but APF were not ready for toss saying the replacement was not notified to their team manager.
The match, however, started two hours later with APF skipper Sharad Vesawkar winning the toss and electing to field first.
Arjun Saud and Kami opened for TAC but they had a horrible start losing the latter for a duck with just six runs on the board. Saud (13), Hari Chauhan (15), Bhim Sharki (six) and skipper Binod Bhandari (11) were dismissed cheaply as TAC came under pressure at 44-4 in 14 overs.
Rohit Paudel and Rajesh Pulami tried to revive the innings with a 36-run partnership for the sixth wicket but TAC lost three wickets in the space of one run to be reduced to 132-9. Sushan Bhari and Jitendra Mukhiya gave some respectability to the total adding 47 runs for the last wicket. Paudel, who was appointed as national team skipper on Friday, top scored with 49 off 56 balls that included three fours.
Pulami scored 18 off 31 balls, while Kushal Malla struck one each four and six in his 14-ball 16. Bhari scored 19, whereas Mukhiya remained unbeaten on 24 off 25 balls that included three boundaries. Mousom Dhakal (3-32) and Amar Routela (3-40) shared six wickets between them for APF, while Kishore Mahato bagged 2-28.
In reply, APF openers Pradeep Airee and Aasif Sheikh put up 30 runs before they were dismissed in the space of 10 runs. Airee scored 20 off 28 balls with the help of four boundaries, while Sheikh contributed 16- ball 14 that included three fours. Lokesh Bam (eight) was dismissed cheaply.
Bhuvan Karki and Sundeep Jora (17) added 31 runs for the fourth wicket before Karki and Sumit Maharjan shared a 75-run partnership for the next wicket to take the team closer to victory. Maharjan struck five fours in his 45-ball 35.
Karki and skipper Vesawkar added 22 runs for the sixth wicket to tie the scores when Karki was dismissed for 55 off 82 balls that included four boundaries and a six. Vesawkar remained unbeaten on 16 off 19 balls with the help of one each four and six.
Jitendra Mukhiya grabbed two wickets, while Sompal Kami, Bikram Sob and Sushan Bharo bagged one wicket each for TAC. Champions APF received one million rupees, while TAC earned Rs 500,000. Losing semi-finalists Nepal Police Club and Madhesh Province got Rs 50,000 each.
NPC skipper Dipendra Singh Airee, who scored 356 runs including two centuries and also bagged nine wickets in the tournament, was named the player of the series and the best batsman. He received a total of Rs 70,000.
NPC's Karan KC was declared the best bowler and he earned Rs 20,000. APF's Mousom Dhakal was adjudged the emerging player and he got Rs 10,000.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 13, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
