Spinner Lalit guides Police to fifth win

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 18: Another six-wicket haul from Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi helped the defending champions, Nepal Police Club, secure their fifth victory, while the Tribhuvan Army Club maintained its unbeaten run at the PM Cup Men's National Cricket Tournament on Monday.

Police defeated Sudur Paschim Province by 61 runs, and Army clinched a three-wicket win over the APF Club. Lumbini Province also recorded its fourth win after defeating Madhesh Province by 83 runs.

With ten points each, NPC and Army occupy the top two positions, while Lumbini, with eight points, climbed to the third position.

Opting to bat first at Siddharthanagar Cricket Stadium, Nepal Police scored 160 runs, losing all wickets in 47 overs. In response, Sudur Paschim managed only 99 runs before being bowled out in 28.3 overs.

Spinner Lalit led the bowling attack for the defending champions, doing most of the damage to Sudur Paschim's batting lineup with figures of 6-15. This was his second six-wicket haul of the tournament. He also claimed six wickets against the APF Club and took five wickets against Madhesh. Lalit leads the wicket-takers' list with 21 wickets.

Sher Malla (32), Milan Bohara (23), and Tek Rawat (12) were the main contributors for Sudur Paschim. Earlier, Nepal Police also struggled with the bat, but Aarif Sheikh's 40 and Captain Dipendra Singh Airee's 42 helped the defending champions reach a modest total. Saurya Shrestha claimed four wickets, and Bhoj Raj Bhatta took three wickets for Sudur Paschim.

At the Extra Tech Oval in Bhairahawa, APF scored 141 runs, losing all wickets in 42.3 overs after being put in to bat first. Army achieved victory in 42.5 overs, losing seven wickets. Kushal Malla (31) and Sompal Kami (22) remained unbeaten, guiding Army to victory. Bibek Yadav (26), Basir Ahamad (13), and Imran Sheikh (11) also contributed with double-digit scores. Kamal Airee, Amar Routela, and Rohit Paudel each claimed two wickets for the three-time champions, APF.

Earlier, Aakash Chand’s four wickets and Sompal Kami’s three wickets helped Army restrict APF to a modest total. From the middle order, Sundeep Jora contributed the highest score of 65 runs off 91 balls. Amar Routela, Bhuvan Karki, and Kishore Mahato each added 11 runs for APF.

At Lamahi, Aakash Tripathi struck a half-century as Lumbini posted 158 runs, losing all wickets in 46 overs. Madhesh’s batting lineup collapsed in 26.5 overs, managing just 75 runs. Ramesh Kurmi was the standout bowler for Lumbini with figures of 4-10. Biprason KC also dismissed three batters in Lumbini's win.

Earlier, Aakash accumulated 73 runs off 123 balls, including six fours and one six. Krishna Karki, with 33, and Captain Dev Khanal, with 16, were the other double-figure scorers for Lumbini. Bishal Patel and Kamal Gupta each took three wickets for Madhesh.