KATHMANDU, April 21: Departmental teams Nepal Police Club and Armed Police Force (APF) Club have secured semifinal places in the ongoing Eighth National Games with their respective wins in the matches played at Siddhartha Stadium in Bhairahawa on Saturday.
Police Club defeated Sudur Paschim Province by four wickets to secure its place in last-four. Sudur Paschim batted first in the second T20 match of the day scoring 106 runs for the loss of five wickets.
Khadag Bohora made 48 runs supported by all-rounder Sher Malla’s 37 to put up a competitive total on the board. Lalit Raj Bhandari, Ram Naresh Giri and Aarif Sheikh shared a wicket each.
In reply, Police Club completed the chase in 17.3 overs for the loss of six wickets. Player of the match Amit Shrestha top-scored 35 runs for the winning departmental team followed by Sunil Dhamala’s 32.
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Narendra Saud and Malla shared two wickets each but couldn’t prevent Police Club from chasing the target comprehensively.
Similarly, in the first match of the day, APF defeated Gandaki Province by five wickets to secure promotion to next round.
Gandaki batted first and scored a total of 74 runs before getting all out in 19.2 overs. Aakash Thapa and Govind Pradhan contributed 20 and 12 runs respectively.
Left-arm spinner Bhuvan Karki took three wickets supported by fast bowler Yagya Man Kumal’s two to limit Gandaki for a comfortable target.
In reply, APF completed the chase in 14 overs for the loss of five wickets. Shankar Rana and Pradeep Airee contributed 35 and 21 runs respectively. Pace bowler Karan KC scalped three wickets in a losing cause for Gandaki.
Both the winning teams will head for Kohalpur (Banke) after completion of their last group matches on Sunday.
In women’s category, Province 1 won by 10 wickets to knock Gandaki Province out of the Eighth National Games during a T20 match held at Lamahi Cricket Ground in Dang on Saturday.
Gandaki was dismissed for 25 runs in 13.3 overs before Province 1 completed the chase in 2.4 overs.
Rubina Chhetri Belbase and Kajol Shrestha scored unbeaten 18 and 8 runs respectively to secure the win. Province 1 has reached the semifinals of the national games.
