KATHMANDU: Kathmandu claimed the Under-16 Regional Selection Cricket Tournament with a massive 72-run win in final over Lalitpur here at the Tribhuvan University Stadium today.

Skipper Nupur Pandey again top scored for Kathmandu as all their top order batsmen contributed runs in the total of 144-7 in the 30-over match. Nupur struck three fours in his 52-ball innings while Sanjit Shrestha (19), Aseen Shrestha (18), Bijaya Rokaya (18) and Samir Chhantyal (18) also chipped in valuables runs to the total. Gaurav Pathak, Ayush Gautam, Santosh Mahat and Ram Krishna Jaiswal claimed one wicket each for Lalitpur.

Chasing 145 to win, Lalitpur fumbled early on and never recovered to be dismissed for 72 runs in 19.2 overs. Lalitpur were reeling at 5-2 after just seven balls of their innings. Only Milan Thapa (11) and Purushottam Jha (14) gave some resistance putting on 23-run stand for the third wicket. Their dismissal meant none of the other Lalitpur batsmen could score in double figures. Rishab Rajbhandari was the pick of the Kathmandu bowlers with 2-16 from 5.2 overs. Man-of-the-match Nupur, Bijaya, Sanjay Sharma, Samip Bastola and Sandesh Pandey also bagged one wicket apiece.

In all four district teams, including Bhaktapur and Nuwakot, took part in the tournament organised by the Kathmandu Regional Cricket Association to select players for the U-16 National Cricket Tournament. The U-16 National tournament is scheduled to begin here from January 3 next year.