Kathmandu, November 23
Bagmati defeated Gandaki by 74 runs in the opening match of the Wai Wai Under-19 National Cricket Tournament here at the TU Stadium today.
Batting first, Bagmati were bowled out for 293 runs in 48.1 overs riding on half centuries from Uttam Magar and Yohesh Bhat, while Gandaki were packed for 219 with 26 balls to spare despite a resolute 98 from Arjun Kumal.
Opener Kumal fought the lonely battle for Gandaki as he could not get support from the other end. Kumal missed his century by two runs and his 119-ball innings was laced with nine boundaries and a six. Cibrin Shrestha was the next best contributor for Gandaki scoring 21 off 22 balls.
Govind BK, Karan Pangeni and skipper Subash Bhandari contributed 13 runs each, while six batters failed to reach double figures. Ashok Poudel was the pick of the Bagmati bowlers taking three wickets but he went on to concede 64 runs in his 10-over spell. Sakriya Karki, Omkar Yadav and Pratik Shrestha grabbed two wickets each, while Abishek Koirala bagged one.
Earlier, player-of-the-match Uttam Magar top scored for Bagmati with a quick fire 87 off 7 balls that included 10 boundaries and a six, while Yogesh Bhat clobbered five fours and three sixes in his 42-bal 52.
Omkar Yadav struck four fours and a six in his 20-ball 37, while Abhishek Koirala scored 32 off just 14 balls with the help of two fours and three sixes.
Atharva Poudyal (21), Sakshyam Bastakoti (18) and Lucky Kathayat (12) also contributed in double figures for Bagmati.
Sudip Aryal (3-62) and Nirtesh Giri (3-52) shared six wickets between them, while Subash Bhandari, Arjun Kumal and Cibrin Shrestha bagged one each for Bagmati.
A total of seven teams, one each from seven provinces, are taking part in the tournament organised by Cricket Association of Nepal under the sponsorship of Chaudhary Group.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 24, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.z
