Opener batsman Shrestha scored 126 runs as Birgunj scored 291/5 and bowled out Kathmandu for 143 runs in 36 overs. Shrestha smashed 14 boundaries and a six off 127 deliveries on his way to become the first batsman to hit two consecutive centuries in a national cricket tournament. Shrestha had scored 101 against Janakpur in its last match. Shrestha´s century was the fifth of the ongoing tournament.[break]
The duo also set the longest partnership for the first wicket in national cricket. On Monday, Faijlur Rahman Khan and Sagar Pun of Bhairahawa had set a record of 157 runs for the first wicket.
Birgunj that opted to bat first made a solid start after Shrestha and Suraj Kurmi (65) played a 179-run stand for the first wicket. Kurmi hit eight fours in his knock off 127 balls. Man-of-the-match Shrestha was stumped by Sudhir Maharjan off Prasanna Shakya in 45.5 overs.
Birgunj that finished runner-up in Group B will lock horns with defending champion Armed Police Force (APF) in the semifinal on Thursday. In another semifinal to be held the same day, Region No 7 (Janakpur) will lock horns with Region No 4 (Bhairahawa). Bhairahawa that made it through to the semifinals with a match in hand was handed a 52-run defeat by RNo 6 (Baitadi) in another match on Tuesday
Skipper Hasim Ansari was out for two runs while Shiva Tandukar (12) and Rabin Gurung (23) contributed for Birgunj. Naresh Raj Giri (19) and Aarif Sheikh (21) remained unbeaten for Birgunj that got extra 23 runs.
Prasanna Shakya of Kathmandu claimed two wickets while Rupesh Srivastav, Niraj Basnet and Niraj Bhattarai pocketed one wicket apiece.
Kathmandu lost wickets in regular intervals and was teetering at 6/130. Kathmandu collected only 13 runs for the last four wickets. Robin Joshi (19), Niraj Bhattarai (15), Indra Kamal Manandhar (25), Rajesh Pulami (29) and skipper Niraj Basnet (10) were the only batsmen to reach double figures for Kathmandu that received 26 runs in extras. Munir Kumar Shrestha (5), Prasanna Shakya (8), Sudhir Maharjan (2), Rupesh Srivastav (2), Apurva Ojha (2) were out cheaply. Keshav Raj Panta was unbeaten without scoring any runs.
Kumar Thapa was the pick of Birgunj bowlers claiming five wickets in his nine-over spell conceding 14 runs with two maiden overs. Avinash Karn, Hasim Ansari and Naresh Raj Giri got one scalp each.
In the match played at Pulchowk ground, batting first Baitadi was all out for a modest total of 198 runs with three overs to spare. However, it managed to restrict Bhairahawa to 146 runs in 33.1 overs. Baitadi had already crashed out from the group stage.
Naresh Budhayer was the highest scorer for Baitadi scoring 77 off 93 that included seven boundaries. Roshan Nepal scored 31 and Santosh Bhatta 25 runs.
Krishna Karki of Bhairahawa claimed four wickets in his nine-over spell giving away 44 runs.
Bhairahawa´s openers Sagar Pun (41) and Faijlur Rahman Khan (35) shared a 65-run partnership for the first wicket but the other batsmen were dismissed cheaply. Krishna Karki (23) and Lal Bahadur Adhikari (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
Man-of-the-match Bhuwan Karki of Baitadi claimed six wickets in his 10-over spell conceding 46 runs with a maiden over.
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