Himalayan News Service

Lalitpur, January 7:

Paresh Lohani scored half century and Binod Das returned with five-wicket haul as Mahavir Cricket Club beat United Chabahil by 123 runs in the semi-final match at the Shyam Chaitanya Baba Memorial Winter Trophy Cricket Tournament here today.

Batting first after winning the toss at St Xavier’s School ground, Mahavir amassed 281 runs losing eight wickets in their allotted 35 overs, riding on Paresh Lohani’s half century. The former national skipper scored a quick fire 92 off 68 balls including 15 hits to the ropes and two sixes before being caught by Prajjwol Dixit off the bowling of Kiran Rana at the boundary line.

Other opener Mehboob Alam was caught by new national wicketkeeper Manoj Baisya off Dixit for a duck, while Dipendra Chaudhary hit six boundaries in his run-a-ball 34 before being boeled by Dipesh Khatri. Kastub Ganguli scored a quick fire 68 off 58 balls including nine fours before becoming the second victim of Dixit, while another former national skipper Raju Khadka scored 16 off 10 balls and new national skipper Binod Das was run out after scoring 12 runs.

For Chabahil, Dipesh Khatri returned with the best figures of 70-30-2, while Prajjwol Dixit also took two wickets but was expensive conceding 57 runs in seven overs. In reply, Chabahil were packed off for 158 runs in 27.5 overs. Maheshwor Shrestha was the top-scorer with run-a-ball 37 which included five fours and a six, while opener Kanishka Chaugain scored 24 off 36 balls including two boundaries and a six. Shakti Singh Bhandari hit three boundaries in his 15-ball 17, while Suman Karki scored 16 off 23 balls. Bantu Bataju scored 13 off 22 balls whereas Prajjwol Dixit hit two fours in his 8-ball 11.

For Mahavir, Binod Das took five wickets — including the highest-scorer Maheshwor Shrestha — conceding 22 runs in 5.5 overs. Dharmendra Mishra and Pramod Mishra took two wickets each. On Saturday, Baluwatar Cricket Club will take on Rudramati Cricket Club in the next semi-final match. Paresh Lohani and Kastub Ganguli also earned Rs 500 each for scoring half centuries, while Binod Das got Rs 500 for his five-wicket haul. All the players hitting six were awarded Rs 50 each. The prizes were sponsored by Baluwatar Cricket Club president Upendra Bhattarai.