POKHARA: Region-VII (Janakpur) lifted the trophy of the Prime Minister Cup Women’s National Cricket Tournament with a five-run victory over Nepal APF Club today.

In the final match played at the Rangasala grounds in Pokhara, APF invited Janakpur to bat first and restricted bowled them out for a paltry 45 runs in 17.3 overs. But the departmental side failed to overcome the target and were packed for 40 runs in 17.5 overs. With the win, Janakpur bagged Rs 50,000, while APF received Rs 30,000. In the third place playoff, Region-IX (Dhangadhi) registered a seven-wicket win over Region-I (Biratnagar) and earned Rs 20,000.

Batting first, Janakpur made a disastrous start losing four wickets with just nine runs on the board. Sarashwoti Chaudhary and Roji Kadari added 24 runs for the fifth wicket before the former was out for 12 off 17 balls. Janakpur then crumbled and were all out for 45 runs. Karuna Bhandari claimed three wickets, while Rubina Chhetri claimed two wickets. Ritu Kanojiya, Sarita Magar and Neera Rajopadhyay took a wicket apiece.

In reply, APF fell in trouble from the beginning and never recovered. After losing opener Sita Rana Magar in first over, APF never came looked comfortable. Karuna Bhandari was the top scorer for APF with eight runs. Player-of-the-match Santoshi Chaudhary claimed 3-7 in four overs for Janakpur. Sarashwoti Chaudhary took two wickets, while Anuradha Chaudhary, Kabita Gautam and Shanti Chaudhary took a wicket each.

Anuradha Chaudhary of Janakpur was declared the player-of-the-series for her 94 runs and seven wickets in the tournament and received Rs 10,000. Sobha Ale of Janakpur was named the best batter, while Trishna Singh received the best bowler's award and Apsari Begam of Biratnagar was adjudged the emerging player. They received Rs 5,000 each. Pankaj Shrestha (DIG, Nepal Police) and Janaki Prasad Bhattrai (DIG, APF) handed over the prizes to the winners.