Kathmandu, February 29

Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) registered victories in the first Ruslan Cup Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.

NPC defeated SS Events by eight wickets, while TAC thrashed PC Fighter by 110 runs. In the first match of the day which was reduced to 18-over-a-side due to overnight rain, NPC invited SS Events to take the first strike and bowled them out for 67 runs in 17.3 overs before reaching 72-2 in 12.2 overs.

Suman Uday top scored for SS Events with 19 off 28 balls. Manjeet Shrestha was the pick of the NPC bowlers taking 4-16 in 3.3 overs, while Sunil Dhamala took two wickets. Lalit Bhandari and Sushil Kandel grabbed a wicket apiece.

In reply, NPC openers Sunil Dhamala and Amit Shrestha scored 53 runs in 11 overs before the former was dismissed for 31 off 36 balls with four boundaries. Shrestha remained unbeaten on 26 off 29 balls with four fours, while Siddhant Lolani scored 13 not out off just seven balls. Praveen Joshi took two wickets for SS Events.

In another match, PC Fighter’s decision to invite TAC to take the first strike back fired as the Armymen amassed 165-5 in 20 overs. PC Fighter could manage 55-9 in 16.2 overs. Sharad Vesawakar top scored for TAC with 55 off 42 balls that included four fours and two sixes, while Rajesh Pulami remained unbeaten on 33 off 22 balls with two fours and two sixes. Anup Oli and Sabin Shakya claimed two wickets each, while Man Bahadur Thapa took a wicket for PC Fighter.

In reply, PC Fighter batsmen surrendered meekly in front of TAC’s pace attack. Sumit Dhowj Chand top scored for PC Fighter with 16 off 44 balls, while Prakash Thakur (12) and Dipesh Das (10) were other batsmen to score in double digits as four PC Fighter batsmen failed to open their account, while Anup Oli could not bat due to injury. Man-of-the-match Bikram Sob finished with 4-13 off four overs, while Sagar Pun and Sharad Vesawakar took two wickets each and Sompal Kami grabbed one for TAC.