Police maintain lead while Army suffer first loss at PM Cup

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar.20: Defending champions Nepal Police Club maintained their perfect record, while Tribhuvan Army Club faced their first defeat in the Prime Minister Cup Men's National Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.

Nepal Police secured a dominant seven-wicket victory over Gandaki Province, extending their winning streak to six matches and leading the table with 12 points. Meanwhile, Madhes Province's three-wicket win against Army widened Police's lead to two points. Army holds second place with 10 points from six matches, while Madhes sits in sixth with two wins from five matches.

At Siddharthanagar, Nepal Police bowled out Gandaki Province for just 92 runs in 23.2 overs, thanks to Lalit Rajbanshi's five-wicket haul and Gulshan Jha's four wickets. 

In response, Police chased the target in just 16 overs, scoring 94 runs. Skipper Dipendra Singh Airee smashed a quickfire 54 runs off 23 balls, including three fours and six sixes. Arjun Saud contributed an unbeaten 18 off 45 balls, while Dilip Nath added 10 runs. Gandaki's Bipin Khatri and Subash Bhandari claimed one wicket each.

Opener Arjun Kumal top-scored for Gandaki with 48 runs off 63 balls, while Lalit Rajbanshi took an impressive 5-7, his fourth five-wicket haul of the tournament. Gulshan also took four wickets conceding 42 runs.

At Deukhuri Cricket Stadium in Lamahi, Tribhuvan Army Club posted 217 runs for the loss of seven wickets, batting first. Madhes achieved the target in 48 overs, losing seven wickets. This victory marked Madhes' first win against Army in the PM Cup and their second in history, having previously beaten Army in the 2023 KP Oli Cup Cricket final.

Madhes' captain Anil Sah top-scored with 45 runs off 48 balls, including seven fours. Rupesh Singh remained unbeaten with 38 runs off 20 balls, hitting two sixes and two fours. He shared a match-winning 50-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Nikhil Singh, who contributed 14 runs. 

Hari Shankar Shah and Pawan Sarraf also scored 37 runs each, while Shailendra Sah added 15 runs. 

For Army, Naren Saud claimed three wickets, while Sompal Kami and Basir Ahmad picked up two each.

Earlier, Bhim Sharki top-scored for Army with 89 runs off 126 balls. Santosh Karki added 33 runs, while other notable contributions came from Bibek Yadav (16), Trit Raj Das (14), Captain Binod Bhandari (11), and Bashir Ahmad (10). Kushal Malla (24) and Naren Saud (8) remained unbeaten. 

Pawan Sarraf, Kamal Gupta, and Rupesh Singh each took two wickets for Madhes.

At Extra Tech Oval in Bhairahawa, Sudur Paschim Province secured their second win, defeating Lumbini Province by five wickets.

Batting first, Lumbini was dismissed for 116 runs in 44.1 overs. Dev Khanal (41) and Prajjwol Thapa (30) were the only significant contributors, as most batters failed to reach double figures. 

Sudur Paschim's Hemant Dhami claimed four wickets, while Saurya Shrestha, Sher Malla, and Milan Bhoara took two wickets each.

In the chase, Kiran Thagunna scored an unbeaten 43 off 43 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes. 

Captain Narayan Joshi remained not out on 25 off 27 balls. Opener Khadak Bohora (11) and Prakash Pandey (22) also contributed. 

For Lumbini, Ramesh Kurmi claimed two wickets, while Nirmal Gurung, Ajay Chauhan, and Biprason KC took one each.

Despite suffering their second defeat, Lumbini remains in third place with eight points from four wins. Sudur Paschim is in eighth place with four points.