KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 30
Nepal APF Club and Nepal Police Club registered easy wins in the opening day matches of the Prime Minister's Cup National Cricket Tournament here today.
In the inaugural match at the TU Stadium in Kirtipur, APF defeated fellow departmental side Tribhuvan Army Club by 56 runs. Batting first, APF were bowled out for 219 runs in 47.4 overs before packing TAC for 163 runs in 32.1 overs.
Player-of-the-match Pradeep Airee and Sudeep Jora scored half centuries for APF, who were reduced to 20-2 after Bikram Sob struck twice in the sixth over. Sob was on hat-trick when he trapped Aasif Sheikh (nine) leg before the wicket and had Lokesh Bam caught behind by Binod Bhandari for a firstball duck. Bhuvan Karki not only survived hat-trick ball but also combined with Airee to add 56 runs for the third wicket to revive the innings.
After the fall of Karki, who scored 36-ball 26 that included four boundaries, Airee and Jora shared a 68-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Airee top scored with 71 off 60 balls that included four boundaries and six sixes, while Jora scored 62-bal 50 with the help of six fours.
Skipper Sharad Vesawkar (16), Mousom Dhakal (12) and Amar Routela (10) contributed in double figures for APF, who lost the last five wickets for 31 runs.
Sob returned with 4-23 from 7.4 overs, while Shahab Alam and Kushal Malla grabbed two wickets each for TAC. Jitendra Mukhiya and Sushan Bhari pocketed one wicket apiece.
In reply, TAC failed to reach the target despite half centuries from Hari Chauhan and Rohit Paudel. They shared a 95-run partnership for the third wicket but TAC innings collapsed after they were dismissed by Kishore Mahato in space of one run in the 26th over. TAC lost eight wickets in the space of 21 runs.
Chauhan struck seven fours and a six in his 67-ball 65, while Paudel scored 51 off 59 balls with the help of seven boundaries. Other batsmen failed to contribute in double figures. Amar Routela was the pick of the APF bowlers with 4-20 from 5.1 overs, and he was ably supported by Kamal Airee (3-56) and Kishore Mahato (2-29).
At Mulpani grounds, Dipendra Singh Airee scored a brilliant century as NPC outplayed Bagmati Province by 192 runs. Batting first, NPC posted 289-5 in their allotted 50 overs before packing Bagmati for a paltry 97 runs in 28 overs.
Airee and Aarif Sheikh shared a 136-run partnership for the fourth wicket to help their team post a massive total.
Player-of-the-match Airee scored a quick fire 108 off just 82 balls and his innings was laced with 11 boundaries and four sixes.
Sheikh scored 36 off 82 balls hitting one each four and six.
Openers Sunil Dhamala and Kushal Bhurtel contributed 37 runs each. Shamala struck five fours and a six in his 23-ball knock, while Bhurtel faced 72 balls and hit four boundaries. Yogendra Singh Karki struck two fours in his 34-ball 16. Pawan Sarrad (15) and Dilip Nath (12) remained unbeaten as they added 30 off 16 balls for the unbroken sixth wicket.
Nandan Yadav took two wickets for Bagmati, while Ramnaresh Giri, Surya Tamang and Sonu Devkota grabbed one each.
In reply, Bagmati were never in contention as they lost wickets at regular interval.
Opener Ishan Pandey top scored with 24 runs, while No 10 batsman Ramnaresh Giri remained unbeaten on 22 off 23 balls that included two sixes. Pratis Giri scored runa-ball 14, while Nandan Yadav (10) was the other batter who contributed in double figure. After scoring superb century, Airee returned to take 3-10 from five overs, while Karan KC, Gulsan Jha and Sagar Dhakal grabbed two wickets each for NPC.
A total of 10 teams, divided into two groups, are taking part in the 50-over tournament organised by Cricket Association of Nepal under the auspices of the National Sports Council. The 50-over national tournament is being held after two years. CAN had organised the PM Cup as an T20 event last year, which was won by TAC.
Top two teams will receive one million rupees and Rs 500,000 respectively, while the losing semi-finalists will get Rs 50,000 each. The best player of the tournament will earn Rs 50,000, while the best batsman and bowler will get Rs 20,000 each. The emerging player will earn Rs 10,000, whereas the man-of-thematch in each game will get Rs 5,000.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 31, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
