Madhes make flying start at PM Cup

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 12: Pawan Sarraf and Rupesh Singh excelled with their bat and ball as Madhes Province defeated Koshi Province by a massive 165 runs to make a flying start in the Prime Minister (PM) Cup Men's National Cricket Tournament on Tuesday. Gandaki Province also secured their first win, defeating Karnali Province by 4 wickets.

Madhes batted first at Siddhartha Cricket Stadium and scored 284 runs for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. In reply, Koshi were bowled out for 119 runs in 33 overs.

Rupesh Singh led Madhes' bowling attack with a five-wicket haul. Rajesh Yadav also took three wickets to restrict Koshi. Rupesh gave away 29 runs in his nine overs, while Rajesh conceded 26 runs in six overs.

Koshi's batting collapsed from the beginning as openers Chirag Sah and Ankit Subedi were dismissed for ducks. Shakib Haq contributed 25 runs from the top order, while lower-order batters Sujah Thapaliya (24), Firdosh Ansari (21), and Dipesh Kandel (20) chipped in. The rest of the batters fell cheaply.

Earlier, Madhes recovered from early setbacks to post a huge total on the scoreboard. Although Mayan Yadav was dismissed for 10 in the fourth over, Captain Anil Sah anchored the innings with a run-a-ball 75, including ten boundaries. He shared an 87-run partnership with Harishankar Shah (29 off 58 balls) for the third wicket. Rohan BK (0) followed Harishankar to the pavilion in the 21st over with the score at 99. Captain Anil then added 46 runs with Pawan Sarraf before being dismissed in the 29th over.

Pawan Sarraf took charge with a brilliant 92 off 85 balls, hitting two sixes and 11 boundaries. He built a 123-run partnership with Dipesh Das for the fifth wicket. Dipesh remained unbeaten with 56 runs.

For Koshi, Bipin Mahato and Prakash Kark took two wickets each.

At Deukhuri International Cricket Stadium in Lamahi, Gandaki won the toss and elected to bowl. Karnali were bowled out for a modest 91 runs in 27.2 overs.

Gandaki made heavy weather of chasing the target but managed to score 95 runs in 29.1 overs, losing six wickets.

Deepak Dumre's unbeaten half-century (50 off 78 balls) was crucial for Gandaki's victory. Seventh batsman Sujan Gautam also contributed an unbeaten 22 runs off 46 balls, while the rest of the batters failed to make significant contributions.

Diwan Pun claimed three wickets for Karnali.

Earlier, Karnali's Bipin Shahi (20), Arjun Gharti (17), Bipin Rawal (15), and Himanshu Shahi (12) were the only players to reach double figures. For Gandaki, Chandra Paudel, Subash Bhandari, and Bipin Khatri took two wickets each.