Bhaktapur, May 17:

Middle-order batsman Rom Shrestha struck brilliant 76 off 74 balls to guide Nuwakot to a comprehensive 115-run win over Bhaktapur in the Region No 3 (Kathmandu) Cricket Selection Tournament here today. At TU stadium, Kathmandu rode on Raju Basnet’s five-wicket haul to defeat Tribhuvan University by seven wickets.

At Bhaktapur’s Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya grounds, Nuwakot scored massive 214 losing nine wickets in 49.1 overs. Apart from, Rom Shrestha’s 76 which included five boundaries and two sixes, Khasing Rai and Mayur Malakar contributed valuable 28 runs each.

Prabin Joshi claimed three wickets followed by two each by Suraj Shakya and Laxman Tamang for Bhaktapur. Binod Kumar Dhami and Ritesh Khadka also took one wicket each.

In reply, Bhaktapur started poorly losing openers for just 27 runs and were ultimately packed for 99 runs in 40.3 overs. Opener Girish Raj Sharma (13) and Prabin Joshi (13) were the only batsmen to reach the double figures. Biswas Manandhar and Radheshyam Misha took three wickets each while Anil Amatya and Bishnu Chitrakar picked two apiece for Nuwakot.

Batting first, TU was bowled out for 103 runs in 29.1 overs with Chandra Bikram KC top-scoring with 25 runs followed by Prem Raj Upreti (22) and Sudeep Sharma (21). Man of the match Raju Basnet took 5-24 off seven overs, while Bantu Bataju claimed 3-25 and Raj Shrestha 2-14.

Kathmandu chased the target in 14.1 overs losing three wickets. Skipper Paresh Lohani scored 44 off 36 balls including four boundaries and a six. Paras Khakda contributed 25 runs. Prem Raj Upretti took two and Sudeep Sharma one wicket for TU.