KATHMANDU: Rupandehi won the Inter-school (District) Twenty20 National Cricket Tournament in the rain-affected final here at the Laboratory School grounds today.

Rupandehi were lucky to have defeated Dang 2-0 in bowl out after struggling to 9-3 in three overs, chasing an 85-run target. In the rain reduced match, Dang were all out for 84 runs 19 overs. Opener Nepali was the stand out batsman for Dang, scoring 31 off 45 balls which included one six and three fours. None of the other Dang batsmen were able to score in double figures. Their second best contribution came through sundries (15). Ikhalaque Ahamed was the pick of the Rupandehi bowlers with 4-9. Bal Bahadur also took 3-8 while Dewendra Somale and Man Bahadur Thapa bagged one wicket apiece.

In reply, Rupandehi were struggling at 9-3 in the third over thanks to a fiery two-over spell from Bijaya Rokaya before insistent rain forced the abondonment of the match. Bijay returned with an excellent figure of 3-6 in two overs for Dang. The match was then decided on bowl out which Rupandehi won 2-0.

Of the four Rupandehi bowlers Ikhalaque Ahamed and Bal Bahadur Thapa hit the target while Aman Thapa and Dewendra Somale missed the wicket. All four Dang bowlers — Kharka GM, Ramesh Thapa, Sujit Sharma and Gopal Pun — missed the target. In all, 20 district teams took part in the tournament organised jointly by the National Sports Council and Cricket Association of Nepal under the programme of Youth and Sports Ministry.