Lalit's record bowling powers Police into PM Cup final

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 26: Nepal Police Club defeated Karnali Province by 44 runs on Tuesday, thanks to Lalitnarayan Rajbanshi's record-breaking bowling performance. 

This was Police's eighth consecutive win in the PM Cup 2025, securing their place in the final for the second time in a row. Police remained unbeaten to win the last edition of the PM Cup.

With one match left, Police tops the table with 16 points. Tribhuvan Army Club has 14 points, and APF Club follows with 12 points, occupying second and third positions, respectively. 

Both Army and APF are still in the race to become the second finalist. Army needs to stop Police's winning streak in the last group match on Thursday, while APF needs a huge win against bottom-placed Koshi Province on Wednesday and hopes for Army's loss to Police.

Invited to bat first at Deukhari Cricket Stadium, Lamahi, Police struggled with their batting and were bowled out for a modest 147 runs in 48 overs. Karnali, in reply, collapsed for 103 runs in 24 overs. In-form Lalit spearheaded the attack with his fifth five-wicket haul, dismantling Karnali's batting lineup.

For Karnali, opener Rabindra Shahi smashed 49 runs off 32 balls, while Arju Gharti contributed 30 runs off 40 balls. Spinner Lalit stood out with bowling figures of 6-41, becoming the first player to claim 100 wickets in the history of the PM Cup. He achieved this milestone in just 40 innings since the tournament's inception in 2017. With 103 wickets, Lalit now tops the all-time wicket-taker list in the PM Cup. Tribhuvan Army's Shahab Alam follows him in second place with 99 wickets from 46 innings.

Lalit also leads the wicket-takers in this edition of the PM Cup with 36 wickets from eight matches. Shahab ranks second with 24 wickets. Sagar Dhakal contributed with two wickets, while Karan KC chipped in with one wicket for the defending champions.

Earlier in the innings, opener Arjun Saud scored the highest for Police with 36 runs off 60 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Dilip Nath added 34 runs off 59 balls, Sarwan Yadav made 11 runs, and Sagar Dhakal remained not out on 22 runs. Karnali's Anuj Chanara was the standout bowler, taking four wickets, while Diwan Pun picked up three wickets, tormenting the Police batters.

Karnali ended their PM Cup campaign with four wins and five losses, finishing in fifth place.

In another match of the day, Madhes Province registered a 44-run victory over Sudur Paschim Province. Sudur Paschim were bowled out for just 58 runs in 29 overs while chasing the 102-run target set by Madhes in 42.3 overs.

A brilliant spell by Bishal Patel dismantled Sudur Paschim's batting, with figures of 6-18. Pradip Paswan also contributed by taking three wickets for just seven runs. Hemant Dhami, with 19 runs, was the only double-digit scorer for Sudur Paschim.

Earlier, for Madhes, Pradip Paswan remained not out, scoring 23 runs. Pawan Sarraf made 19 runs, Dipesh Das scored 12, and Rupesh Singh added 12 runs. Madhes, with six points from three wins, have one more match left against Bagmati Province.

To restrict Madhes to a modest total, Sher Malla delivered the most economical 10-over spell in PM Cup history. He claimed four wickets, conceding just five runs, and bowled six maiden overs. Hemant Dhami also took four wickets for Sudur Paschim with figures of 4-11.

Sudur Paschim finished their tournament with three wins and six losses, ending in eighth place.