Kathmandu, November 4:

Rishikesh Sharma took five wickets as Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by four wickets to enter the final of the Pepsi Under-15 National Cricket Tournament here today.

Batting first, Biratnagar were dismissed for 110 runs in 39.4 overs and Bhairahawa chased the total losing six wickets in 27 overs.

Biratnagar had a disastrous start losing opener Pashupati Mandal with just seven runs on board and never recovered. No 7 batsman Rabin Pyakurel top-scored with 24 off 45 balls, while Anup Karki (16), Nirjal Chhetri (15) and Sunny Pun (11) were the only other three batsmen to score in double figures.

For Bhairahawa, Rishikesh Sharma took 5-26 off eight overs and was ably supported by Rakesh Barai (3-14). Shiva Sharma and Chetan Sohare took one wicket each.

In reply, Bhairahawa also had a poor start when they lost opener Himal Shrees for a duck in the third ball of the innings and Kritan Gurung, also for a duck, with just five runs on the board.

Defending the low total, Biratnagar were back in the contention when No 4 batsman Krishna Sen was out for 11 runs making it 19-3 in the fourth over, but the fourth wicket stand of 74 runs between Sagar Pun and Nischal Singh Chaudhary rescued Bhairahawa from further trouble.

The duo fell in the space of two runs, making it 95-5. Chaudhary departed scoring 33 off 49 balls hitting three fours, while Pun top-scored with 41 off 58 balls including three boundaries and a six. Aashish Singh (7) and man of the match Rishikesh Sharma (6) guided their team home.

For Biratnagar, Aashish Singh claimed three wickets conceding 28 runs while Anup Karki and Aditya Tuladhar took one wicket each. Bhairahawa will play the winner of the Monday’s semi-final match between Region No 3 (Kathmandu) and Region No 4 (Birgunj).

Baitadi lodge complaint:

KATHMANDU: Region No 6 (Baitadi) coach Basudev Joshi, team manager Dipendra Bahadur Chand and skipper Pradeep Airee showed their dissatisfaction over the controversial run out during the U-15 National Cricket Tournament match against Region No 3 (Kathmandu) that saw their team ousted from the league round. “The umpire duo Sanjay Kanta Sigdel and Raj Kumar Sharma gave the run out decision which was never there,” the three lamented here on Sunday. “The batsman (Sunil Tamang) had gone forward to look the pitch after the umpire had signalled the ball dead, but the Kathmandu players appealed for the run out after dislodging the bails and the umpires gave out,” they claimed. “It was shocking decision and would contribute only to discourage the young players,” they added. — HNS