Lalitpur, December 8

Team Manaslu registered double wins and advanced to the final of the men’s National Cricket Tournament for Blinds here at the Engineering College grounds today.

Manaslu made it four wins in as many matches to top the three-team table of the double-league tournament which also serves as the selection for the second Twenty20 World Cup Cricket Tournament for Blind to be held at different nine venues in India from January 20 to February 12.

In Friday’s final, Manaslu will face Dhaulagiri, who finished runners-up with two wins.

In the day’s first match, Manaslu defeated Dhaulagiri by four wickets. Sent in to take the first strike, Dhaulagiri posted 107-4 in 20 overs, while Manaslu reached the target for the loss of six wickets with seven balls to spare. Badri Chaulagain top scored for Dhaulagiri with 20 runs and Bharat Thapa contributed 14. For Manaslu, Jeevan Gurung took two wickets, while Bikram Bahadur Rana and Surya Bhattarai claimed one each.

In reply, Kritan Shrestha Suwal top scored for Manaslu with 27 runs and Bikram Bahadur Rana contributed 10 runs. Badri Chaulagain and Ram Prasad Paudel took two wickets each for Dhaulagiri, while Manoj Bhatta and Ratna Rai pocketed one apiece.

In another match, Manaslu hammered Team Annapurna by eight wickets. Batting first, Annapurna scored 105-5 in 20 overs before Manaslu overcame the target losing two wickets in just 14.4 overs. Sunil Thapa scored 30 and Damodar BC chipped in with 12 runs for Annapurna. Sunil Rana and Kritan Shrestha Duwal took two wickets each for Manaslu, while Surya Bhattarai claimed one.

Chasing a modest target, Bharat Chaulagain top scored in the match with 30 runs and Jeevan Gurung scored 20 runs for Manaslu. Damodar BC and Sunil Thapa took one wicket each for Annapurna. A total of 14 players will be selected after the tournament, organised by Cricket Association of Blind Nepal under the financial support of Australian Embassy.