Kathmandu, May 28

Tribhuvan Army Club and Province-3 registered victories in the Expert Prime Minister Cup One Day Cricket Tournament here today.

TAC thrashed Karnali Province by 117 runs at the Mulpani grounds for their third straight victory, while Province-3 hammered Gandaki Province by seven wickets at the TU Stadium.

At the TU Stadium, TAC posted 290-9 in their allotted 50 overs riding on half centuries from openers Harikrishna Jha and Raju Rijal along with Rohit Kumar Paudel. TAC made a flying start with Jha and Rijal adding 132 runs for the opening wicket in 28 overs.

Jha sored 52 off 100 balls hitting four boundaries, while man-of-the-match Rijal struck 10 fours in his 78- ball 66. Paudel then scored a quick fire 56 off 51 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Karan KC contributed 28 off 26 balls that included two fours and a six, while Lokendra Chand and Shahab Alam — who remained unbeaten on 16 each — added 32 runs for the unbroken final wicket.

Both Chand and Alam struck two boundaries and one six each.

Lalit Pyakurel completed the five-wicket haul returning with the figures of 5-63 from nine overs, while Rabindra Jung Shahi claimed 2-63 for Karnali.

In reply, Karnali were never in contention after they lost wickets at regular interval and they were struggling at 71-6 in 13 overs. Opener Sushant Singh Thapa top scored for team with 31 off 35 balls that included five boundaries. No 10 batsman Lalit Pyakurel remained unbeaten on run-a-ball 28 hitting three fours and a six.

Diwan Pun (26), Unish Singh (20), skipper Rabindra Jung Shahi (13) and Dinesh Adhikari (11) also got starts but they failed to convert them into big knocks. Susan Bhari was the pick of the TAC bowlers taking 4-36 from nine overs, while Karan KC (2-15) and Shahab Alam (2- 8) shared four wickets between them.

In another match, Gandaki were bowled out for 108 runs in 30.1 overs before Province-3 raced to 112-3 with 166 balls to spare. Suma Ghimire was the top scorer with 34 off 32 balls that included one four and three sixes, while Aakash Thapa scored 28 off 46 balls hitting two fours. Rahul Sharma (12) was the only other batsman who scored on double figures for Gandaki.

Province-3 skipper Paras Khadka (4-18) and Surya Tamang (4-29) shared eight wickets between them, while Nandan Kumar Yadav grabbed 2-22. Khadka was later adjudged the man of the match.

In reply, Aadil Khan and Ishan Pandey added 71 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket to take the team home after Province-3 lost three wickets in the space of seven runs to be 41-3.

Khan scored an unbeaten 38 off 53 balls that included five boundaries, while Pandey struck four fours in his 40- ball 26 not out.

Opener Rit Gautam scored 20 off 22 balls hitting four boundaries, while Rabi Joshi (11) also scored in double figure for Province-3.

Kishore Mahato took 2-28 for Gandaki, while Bipin Khatri grabbed one wicket.