Dramatic draw sends Madhes into semifinal

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov 8: The tie against Bagmati Province helped Madhesh Province secure the spot in the semi-finals at the PM Cup One Day National Cricket on Monday.

After sharing a point with Bagmati at TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, Madhes advanced into the last four from Group B with five points from three matches. Nepal Police Club is at the summit of the league standings with six points from three matches. The winner of Group B will be decided when Madhesh and Nepal Police will meet each other in the last group match on Tuesday. 

Rijan Dhakal tied the score in the 48.4 overs for Bagmati. One run was only needed for Bagamati to secure its first win from eight balls. After giving two runs to tie the score, bowler Rupesh Singh played dot balls in the remaining two balls of the 49th over. Rajesh Yadav came to bowl the last over. He played dot ball in the first ball and made Dhakal catch out by wicketkeeper Anil Shah in the second ball of the last over to steal the points from Bagmati.  

Player of the match Rajesh Yadav and Pradip Paswan grabbed three wickets to help Madhesh advance into the last four. Rupesh Singh also bagged two wickets for Madhesh. Prithu Baskota scored the highest 40 runs for Bagmati. Opener Rit Gautam added 32 runs and his opening partner Ishan Pandey hit 31 runs for Bagmati.

Opted to bat first, Madhes scored 190 runs losing all the wickets in 46.2 overs. Rohan BK top-scored with 63 runs for Madhes. Opener Santosh Karki collected 23 runs and skipper Harishankar Shah scored 13 runs off 22 balls.

Sudur Paschim registered a consolation victory after registering a five wickets comfortable victory over Karnali Province at Mulpani International Cricket Ground.

Both teams Sudur Paschim and Karnali already have crashed out of the tournament as they finished fourth and fifth respectively in Group A. With seven points from four matches, Armed Police Force (APF) already had secured the semis berth remaining at the top of Group A. 

The race for the second spot is wide open as Gandaki ended with five points after playing its all matches while Tribhuvan Army Club, with one match in hand, is with four points in third place. 

Sudur Paschim chased the victory target of 151 runs in the 29.4 overs with the loss of five wickets in the allocated 50 overs match. Batting first, Karnali made 150 runs with the loss of all the wickets in 38.1 overs.