KATHMANDU, JANUARY 16

Abinash Bohara took five wickets and Asif Sheikh scored half century as Nepal APF Club thrashed Province-1 by 135 runs in the Group A match of the PM Cup National Men’s Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.

Batting first, APF were all out for 243 runs in 48.4 overs before packing Province-1 for a paltry 108 runs with 44 balls to spare.

APF made a flying start with openers Subash Khakurel and Asif Sheikh putting up 71 runs inside nine overs in a partnership dominated by the latter.

Sheikh struck six boundaries and five sixes in his fiery knock of 32-ball 59.

Khakurel (19) then added 26 runs with skipper Sharad Vesawkar for second wicket before the departmental side lost four quick wickets to be 126-5.

Skipper Vesawkar (20), Pradeep Airee (seven) and Sumit Maharjan (14) fell cheaply. Sandeep Jora and Basant Regmi revived the innings with a 66-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

Regmi scored 52-ball 40 with the help of four boundaries and two sixes, while Jora scored 30 off 39 balls that included four fours. Kishore Mahato chipped in with 23-ball 19 hitting two fours. Firdosh Ansari, Dipesh Kandel, Hemant Rai and Sarwan Yadav took two wickets each for Province-1, while Josak Khadka and Sonu Mandal bagged one apiece.

In reply, Province-1 batsmen struggled for partnerships and were never in contention after they lost wickets at regular interval. The 29-run stand for the second wicket between Minash Thapa and Firdosh Ansari was the best partnership in the Province-1 innings. Thapa top scored with 18 off 44 balls that included two fours, while Ansari netted 42-ball 17.

Dipesh Kandel (16), Deepak Paswan (13) and Josak Khadka (12 not out) were the other batsmen to score in double figures for Province-1. APF bowler Abinash Bohara completed the five-wicket haul taking 5-18 from 10 overs and that also earned him the man-of-thematch award.