Nepalgunj beat Birgunj

Kathmandu, June 4:

Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) registered a four-wicket victory over Region No 2 (Birgunj) at the Wai Wai Under-19 National Cricket League here at the TU Stadium today.

Put into bat first, Birgunj were bowled out for a paltry 84 runs in 40.2 overs. Nepalgunj then chased the total in 26.1 overs.

Akash Pariyar (15) was the lone batsman to score in double figures for Birgunj. For Nepalgunj, Sahid Riza took 3-12, while Nassir Ansari, Naveen Shahi and Suvendu Pandey claimed two wickets each. Sandeep Shrestha went wicketless but was outstanding with six consecutive maiden overs and returned 10-7-11-0.

In reply, Nepalgunj lost the wicket of Suvendu Pandey (0) in the second over, but Chhetri brothers Mahesh and Ganesh consolidated the innings with a stand of 48 runs for the second wicket. Ganesh was out for 18 off 45 balls and Mahesh, who hit three fours and a six, top-scored with 29 off 41 balls.

Nepalgunj then lost three more wickets for 14 runs, but were already in sight of victory. Man of the match Sahid Riza (unbeaten 12) hit the winning boundary. For Birjung, Aamir Sohail took 3-6 off five overs.