Kathmandu, June 7

Departmental sides Nepal Police Club and Tribhuvan Army Club were confident of winning the first Prime Minister Cup One-day National Men’s Cricket Tournament when they face each other in the final at the Tribhuvan University Stadium on Thursday.

NPC skipper Manjeet Shrestha said they would put best performance against departmental rivals and win the title of the tournament, which carries the highest cash prize in domestic cricket.

“We will give our best and if everything goes as planned we will win the title,” said Shrestha at the pre-match conference. “We will play our natural game and try to capitalise on opponent’s errors,” he added.

On the other hand, TAC skipper Binod Bhandari said they would be under pressure to win. “Whenever we play against the NPC, we need to win the match as there is a kind of rivalry among the departmental teams,” said Bhandari. “And we will win the title if we check their couple of batsmen,” Bhandari added.

NPC advanced to the final by beating another departmental giants Nepal APF Club, while TAC saw off Western Development Region in another semi-final match.

NPC skipper Shrestha said winning the title would be beneficial for the players and club as well. “If we win the title of the tournament that offers the highest cash prize, the club will provide the players with incentives,” said Shrestha.

The final is a rematch between the two teams as they had faced each other in the group stage. And the Armymen had thrashed NPC by seven wickets. “Although we lost the match, we are capable of winning the final as we have a balanced team with numbers of allrounders and options in bowling lineup,” said NPC skipper Shrestha.

TAC skipper Bhandari also said his side had the best top order in batting as well as quality bowlers who were able to turn the match in team’s favour. “We have nearly five batsmen and same number of bowlers in the team which make us one of the favourites of the tournament,” added Bhandari.

The winners and runners-up will get two million rupees and one million rupees respectively, while the two losing semi-finalists will get Rs 50,000 each.

Similarly, the best player of the tournament will take home Rs 100,000 whereas the best batsman and the best bowler will earn Rs 50,000 apiece. The emerging player will be awarded with Rs 25,000.