KATHMANDU, Sept 3: Nepal Army fixed the final date against title holder Armed Police Force (APF) in its debut tournament on Thursday in the Pepsi Standard Chartered Senior T20 National Cricket Tournament being held in the capital.
Army made it to final on the basis of better net run rate as the semifinal fixture against Region No 2 (Birgunj) was abandoned due to rain. Army qualified for semifinal as the winner of group A with net run rate of 1.604 and Birgunj, semifinalist as the runner up of group B has -0.185 net run rate during their group match. [break]
In another semifinal reduced to 13 overs due to rain, Sharad Vesawkar hammered unbeaten 53 runs for the defending champion APF as it crushed Region No 3 (Kathmandu) by 83 runs at the TU grounds, Kirtipur.
Put to bat first, the-man-of-the-match Vesawkar cracked three sixes and four boundaries in his innings of 21 balls to guide APF to a formidable total of 143/4. Skipper Paras Khadka remained unbeaten for 35 off 22 while Subash Khakurel (20), Pradeep Airee (7) and Gyanendra Malla (8) contributed for APF. Som Pal Thapa of Kathmandu pocketed two wickets and Niraj Bhattarai bagged one.
In the run chase, Kathmandu could manage only 60/4 as Sujan Maharjan (11), Suraj KC (16), Bivatsu Thapa (not out 14) were the only batsmen to reach double figure. Niraj Bhattarai was out for 2 runs and Pawan Shrestha remained unbeaten for 3 runs.
Yagya Man Kumal, Bhuwan Karki and Shakti Gauchan claimed one wicket each for the departmental giant.
Friday´s match
Army Vs APF (Final)
Venue: TU ground @ 10:00 AM