Army, Bagmati enter Super 4

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 22: The Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) and Bagmati Province entered the Super 4 stage of the PM Women’s Cup after their respective win over Koshi and Madhes at the Dhangadhi-based Fapla Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Army and Bagmati finished as the Top 2 teams of Group B and will meet the two toppers of Group A – APF and Sudurpashchim – in the Super 4 stage that kicks off on January 23.

As per the tournament fixtures, the top two teams from a group will play two games in the Super 4 against the top two teams from the other group; the two teams with the most points after two games will then play for the trophy on January 25.

The wins on Tuesday for Army and Bagmati placed them in the first and second positions of Group B with four points each. Third-placed Koshi also had four points but felt behind at net run rate (NRR). Army, Bagmati and Koshi had two wins and a loss in three group games; Madhes was the only Group B team to stay winless. 

Nevertheless, third and fourth-placed Koshi and Madhes will play their final game on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Army and Bagmati ensured their spot at the Super 4 with a comfortable win. Army and Bagmati chased down 37 runs and 41 runs against Koshi and Madhes respectively.

Both Army and Bagmati elected to field first after winning the toss. Koshi had only 42 balls to bat as the game was reduced to seven overs each. Losing five wickets, Koshi could add 36 runs on the board. 

Manisha Chaudhary and Sushmita Bhusal bagged three and two wickets for Army respectively. In response, Army lost one wicket and chased 37 runs successfully with four balls to spare; the only wicket that fell for Army was also a result of a run-out. Opener Samjhana Khadka stayed not out at 32 off 23.

On the other hand, Madhes had 120 deliveries to post a decent total against Bagmati. However, Madhes got bundled out in 15.5 overs for a paltry 40 runs with Army’s Kanchan Shrestha and Bipisha Shahi bagging four and two wickets respectively.

Bagmati lost its opener, Kanchan, to a run-out in 4.4 overs, but the team required only six more runs to win after that. After Shrestha’s departure, Bagmati was at 35/1.

Bagmati lost two more wickets while seeking six runs as Roji Kadari bowled out Yashu Pandey (19 off 19) and Helisha Gurung (0 off 2). Bipisha stayed not out (8 off 4) with Yashoda Bist (1 off 4) to take Bagmati to the Super 4.

The Super 4 stage will see APF facing Bagmati and Sudurpashchim facing Army on Thursday.