Army, Police win low-scoring ties

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 20

Tribhuvan Army Club registered their third straight victory, while fellow departmental side Nepal Police Club returned to winning ways in the PM Cup Men’s National Cricket Tournament here today.

TAC defeated Province-1 by four wickets in the Group A match at the TU Stadium.

Batting first, Province-1 were bowled out for a paltry 131 runs in 40.1 overs before TAC raced to 135-6 with 121 balls to spare. TAC are at the top of the table with maximum six points from three matches, while Nepal APF Club, Karnali and Gandaki have two points each.

Despite chasing a low total, TAC lost opener Anil Mandal for a duck in the first ball of the innings and they were reduced to 41-4 after Lokesh Bam (13), skipper Binod Bhandari (five) and Hari Chauhan (eight) fell cheaply.

Rohit Paudel and Bhim Sharki added 50 runs for the fifth wicket to revive the innings.

Paudel scored 36 off 21 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes, while Sharki struck one each four and six in his 61-ball 29.

Rajesh Pulami remained unbeaten on 24 off 27 balls that included two hits to the fence and a six.

Firdosh Ansari, Gyanendra Shrestha, Dipesh Kandel and Shuvankar Urao took one wicket each for Province-1.

Earlier, Bibek Meheta and Firdosh Ansari helped Province-1 post the three-figure total after the team lost three quick wickets.

The duo shared a 77-run partnership for the fourth wicket but Province-1 threw the last seven wickets for a paltry 25 runs to be dismissed cheaply.

Meheta top scored with 50 off 83 balls that included seven fours and a six, while Ansari struck one each four and six in his 90-ball 32.

Opener Deepak Paswan (19) and Dipesh Kandel (11) were the other two batsmen to score in double figures for Province-1. Man-of-thematch Shahab Alam was the pick of the TAC bowlers taking 4-23 from 9.1 overs and he was ably supported by Aakash Chand (3-15). Sushan Bhari, Bhim Sharki and Rajesh Pulami claimed one wicket each.

At the TU Stadium, defending champions NPC outplayed Sudurpashchim Province by nine wickets for their first win. Batting first, Sudurpashchim were bowled out for a paltry 110 runs and NPC raced to 111-1 in 17 overs. NPC had faced a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Bagmati Province in their first match on Tuesday.

Sudurpashchim lost skipper Santosh Bhatta in the second ball of the innings when he was run out without facing a ball before opener Khadak Bohora and Sanju Damai added 60 runs for the second wicket to revive the innings. But Bohara’s fall in the 17th over saw a landslide in Sudurpashchim innings and they lost nine wickets or just 30 runs.

Bohara top scored with 40 off 53 balls that included eight boundaries, while Damai struck five fours in his 58-ball 35. Man-of-thematch Sagar Dhakal (4-18) and Dipendra Singh Airee (4-10) shared eight wickets between them for the departmental side.

In reply, NPC openers Sunil Dhamala and Kushal Bhurtel scored half centuries to ease the chase. They added 97 runs in 16 overs before Dhamala fell for 53 off 57 balls that included six fours and two sixes.

Bhurtel, who struck nine boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 44-ball 51, combined with Amit Shrestha (one) to take the team home without further loss.