Host Koshi out of KPT

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 13: Koshi Province, host of Koshi Province Trophy, is out of the T20 tournament after losing its third match in the group stage.

The top two teams from Group A (APF, Army, Madhes, Koshi and Karnali) and Group B (Police, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudur Pashchim) will advance to the semifinals. 

Koshi is out of the tournament after losing against Tribhuwan Army Club (TAC) by a 5-wicket on Tuesday. It was Koshi’s fourth and final group match. Winning against Karnali in the tournament opener, Koshi lost to Madhes, APF and Army in the remaining matches. On the other hand, Army registered its third consecutive match. Army, which has already qualified for the semi-final, is facing APF in its final group encounter on Wednesday. 

Koshi out

Ending the PM Men’s Cup 2024 at the bottom among 10 teams, Koshi was expected to perform better after hosting a national-level tournament itself. However, Koshi failed to advance further in its own tournament. Deciding to field first Army bowlers restricted Koshi to 135/6 in allotted 20 overs.

Losing five wickets in the first 10 overs, the seventh-wicket unbeaten partnership between Dipesh Kandel (40 off 36) and Sarwan Yadav (29 off 14) took Koshi to a three-figure on the scoreboard. Pawan Karki and Trit Raj Das took two wickets for Army.

Army lost only five wickets to chase 136 in 18.4 overs. Trit was Army’s highest scorer with 35 off 32.

Sarwan and Gyanendra Shrestha took two wickets each for Koshi while Avyash Timsina took one.

Bagmati’s 1st win

Bagmati registered its first win of the group after defeating Gandaki Province on Tuesday. 

Bagmati lost its first two matches against Lumbini and Sudur Pashchim.  Despite opening the account in Group B, Bagmati’s  hopes of semi-final is over. Lumbini Province and Sudurpaschim Province lead the top two place of Group B with six points. Meanwhile, it was Gandaki’s last group match. Losing all four matches, Gandaki is also out of the competition. 

Gandaki, electing to bat first, posted a target of 151 runs after losing eight wickets in 20 overs. Dinesh Budha Magar’s 62 off 47 took Gandaki to the 150-run mark. While Ishan Pandey took two wickets, Ramnaresh Giri, Dipesh Shrestha and Tilak Bhandari bagged one each for Bagmati. Three Gandaki players got run out.

Losing six wickets, Bagmati chased the target with four balls remaining. In at 8, Ramnaresh’s half-century was what powered Bagmati to its first win.

Ramnaresh stayed not out at 50 off 27 with Rabin Joshi (32 off 30). Subash Bhandari took three wickets while Sandeep Parajuli and Avishek Thapa bagged one each for Gandaki.