POKHARA/CHITWAN: Nepal APF Club, Region-V (Nepalgunj), Region-IX (Dhangadhi) and Region-VII (Janakpur) started the Prime Minister Cup Women’s National Cricket Tournament with victories on Wednesday.

In the matches played at the Pokhara Stadium, APF defeated Region-I (Biratnagar) by six wickets, while Nepalgunj registered a nine-wicket victory over Region-VIII (Pokhara).

APF bowled out Biratnagar for 48 runs in 19 overs before racing to 49-4 in 12.5 overs. Sita Rana Magar was pick of the APF bowlers as she grabbed three wickets, while Sarita Magar scored an unbeaten 23 runs for the departmental team. None of the Biratnagar players could reach double-figure mark.

In a rain-affected six-over-a-side match, Pokhara opted to bat first and managed a paltry 16 runs for the loss of six wickets. Nepalgunj, who received a revised target of 14 runs from five overs after another rain delay, reached the target in just 11 balks for the loss of a wicket.

In the matches played at the Campachaur in Chitwan, Dhangadhi thumped Region-IV (Bhairahawa) by seven wickets, while Janakpur thrashed Region-II (Birgunj) by nine wickets.

Batting first, Bhairahawa were bowled out for 84 runs in 20 overs, while Dhangadhi made 87-3 in 15.2 overs in reply. Barsha Rana Magar top scored for Bhairahawa with 19 runs, while Sonu Khadka claimed two wickets for Dhangadhi. Nirmala Shahi's unbeaten 31 guided Dhangadhi to easy victory.

In the second match of the day, Birgunj managed to score 67 runs in 20 overs for the loss of five wickets before Janakpur raced to 68-1 in 11.4 overs. Shova Ale and Mamta Chaudhary scored 19 runs each for the winning team. Chaudhary was announced player of the match.