Army, APF win as PM Cup's Super 4 begins

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 24: The two departmental clubs – Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) and Armed Police Force (APF) Club – emerged victorious over provincial teams as the Super 4 stage of the PM Women’s Cup 2025 commenced at the Dhangadhi-based Fapla Cricket Ground on Thursday.

TAC defeated hosts Sudurpashchim Province while APF bested Bagmati Province in the day's two games.

APF won the toss and elected to field first against Bagmati in the first game reduced to 18-over each after a delay due to bad weather in the Tarai region. Bagmati could only post 42 runs on the board at the end of the first inning losing eight wickets.

With three ducks, none of the players from Bagmati could reach the double figures leading the team to a paltry score. Suman Bist took three wickets for APF while Binu Budha and Rekha Rawal bagged two each; Kabita Joshi also took one.

APF did not even need to send any more batters to the crease as the opening duo of Rajmati Airee and Mamta Chaudhary finished the chase in 6.5 overs. Aerie and Chaudhary stayed not out at 14 off 22 and 23 off 20 respectively.

While APF had a comfortable win, TAC did not have an easy match against the host. Being invited to bat first, Army only had opener Samjhana Khadka on the helm who led the team to post a generous target for Sudurpashchim.

Khadka stayed not out at 74 off 57 while six wickets fell on the other end and took Army to 110/6 in 20 overs. Janaki Thapa took two wickets while Aashika Mahara and Rewati Dhama claimed one each for Sudur.

As the score was chasable for Sudur, thanks to their effort with the ball, the hosts needed to showcase their skills with the bat. However, a good start by the top three – Kabita Kunwar (16 off 16), Manisha Bohara (18 off 37) and Bindu Rawal (11 off 23) – could not get a continuation.

Sudur lost only six wickets, but the batters could only reach 96 runs at the end of 20 overs falling short by 15 runs to win. Sushmita Bhusal claimed three wickets while Sita Shahi and Laxmi Saud took one each for Army.

The final day of the Super 4 stage will see the two departmental clubs in action on Friday and the fixture will be followed by Bagmati vs Sudurpashchim.