Nepal Police marches into PM Cup final

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 30: Nepal Police Club secured their place in the final of the Prime Minister (PM) Cup Men's National One Day Cricket Tournament after winning their seventh consecutive match at Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground in Kathmandu on Wednesday. 

The Police defeated Gandaki Province by six wickets and qualified for the final with two matches to spare. With seven wins, the Police led the league standings with 14 points. 

Tribhuvan Army Club is also on the verge of reaching the final. With one match remaining, the Army has 12 points and is in second place behind the Police. If the Army beats Gandaki Province in their next game, they will qualify for the final. Bagmati Province, which finished third, and Madhes Province, which finished fourth, are out of contention for the top two places after playing all nine matches. 

They both have 12 points on the table. Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Sudur Paschim are in fifth and sixth place with eight points, respectively, and still have two matches to play. 

At Upper Mulpani, the Police successfully chased the target of 171 runs in 24.2 overs, losing only four wickets. Top scorer Dilip Nath, the opener, scored a quick-fire 57 off 39 balls, including four maximums and six boundaries. Arjun Saud, another significant contributor, remained unbeaten on 44 runs off 49 deliveries, including five boundaries and one six. Aarif Sheikh also contributed with an unbeaten 22-ball 27, including five fours. 

Kushal Bhurtel (22) and Shankar Rana (12) were the other two players who scored in double digits for the Police. Amrit Gurung took two wickets, while Bipin Khatri and Kamal Pariyar claimed one wicket each for Gandaki. 

Earlier, Gandaki scored 170 runs, losing all their wickets in 38.3 overs, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Amrit Gurung scored a half-century knock to help Gandaki post a medium score. Gurung cracked eight fours and two sixes off 39 balls before returning to the pavilion as the last wicket. 

Gandaki had a poor start, losing two wickets for 15 runs in 8.1 overs. Despite Sameer Kandel (29 off 59 balls) and Karan Pangeni (30 off 54 balls) trying to steady the innings, Gandaki lost wickets at frequent intervals. 

Kamal Pariyar (30 off 26 balls) was another significant contributor to Gandaki. Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Police, finishing with 5-25 in his six-over spell. Lalit Rajbanshi and Karan KC took two wickets each while bowling for the Police. 

At TU Cricket Ground, Army scored a massive total of 262 runs, losing all their wickets in 48.3 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Sudur Paschim, in reply, were bundled out for 165 runs in 40.1 overs. 

Medium pacer Jitendra Mukhiya's miserly spell did the most damage in the dismissal of Sudur Paschim. Mukhiya claimed five wickets, conceding only ten runs while bowling two maiden overs off 37 deliveries. 

Kiran Thagunna was the top scorer for Sudur Paschim, scoring 68 runs off 74 balls, including six boundaries and three sixes. Sher Malla (24), Naren Bhatta (18), Prakash Pandey (11), Gajendra Bohara (12), and Narayan Joshi (13) were the other players who scored in double digits for Sudur Paschim. 

Sompal Kami also took two wickets but gave away 46 runs. Shahab Alam, Kushal Malla, and Basir Ahmed dismissed one batter each for Army. 

Despite tottering to 56/4 in 9.6 overs, the lower-order batters rescued Army with their double-digit scores. Opener Santosh Karki (30) and Sandeep Tajali (37) put up some resistance from the top. Basir Ahamad (36), Sompal Kami (31), and Shahab Alam (21) contributed from the lower order. Although Bhoj Raj Bhatta took a wicket haul, he could not stop Army from scoring runs at a rapid pace. Naren Saud also dismissed three batters for Sudur Paschim.