Jay Trophy Final : Bhurtel propel NPC to 85/2

By A Staff Reporter 

Kathmandu, Jan. 15: Kushal Bhurtel stood tall in the final of the Jay Trophy between Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) as he propelled NPC to 85/2 by the time for Stumps as the fog-shortened game saw only 17 overs bowled on Day 1. 

The game that was supposed to begin at 9:30 am at Narayani Cricket Ground, Birgunj, on Tuesday started over six hours late with TAC winning the toss and electing to field first. 

Army’s decision to bowl first bore fruit as Sompal Kami sent NPC opener Dilip Nath back to the pavilion for a golden duck. However, despite losing the first wicket in the very first ball of the first inning, Bhurtel partnered with in-at-three Amit Shrestha to take Police to a decent total on Day 1.

Bhurtel and Shrestha took Police to 65 runs before Shrestha departed as the second wicket in 12.2 overs. Aakash Chand caught Shrestha (20 off 39) in the spell of spinner Shahab Alam. 

Arjun Saud then joined Bhurtel on the crease. Saud faced 13 deliveries without opening his run account while Bhurtel completed his second half-century in the tournament. He stayed not out with Saud at 50 off 51.

Bhurtel started the tournament with a duck against Army in the duo’s first game of Jay Trophy; he departed for 5 runs in the second inning. He made a comeback in the second game with 63 runs against Madhes. 

But after scoring only 40 runs in two innings of the third game against Bagmati, Bhurtel, who has been failing in several games for a while now, was seeking to silence his haters. And he bounced back with a 50* on Tuesday, looking forward to keeping the scoreboard ticking when he comes back to bat on Day 2 on Wednesday if the weather does not affect the game again.