Janakpur defeated Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by seven wickets and APF registered a four-wicket win over Region No 9 (Dhangadhi) in Tuesday's semifinals at the Rangashala ground in Pokhara. The final will be played at the same venue on Wednesday.In their last encounter, APF had defeated Janakpur in the final of the 40-over national cricket tournament in Kathmandu on February.
Anuradha Chaudhary's all-round performance guided Janakpur to win over Biratnagar as it chased 59 runs target in 11 overs losing only three wickets. Anuradha, who remained not out, scored highest 35 runs in the run chase which included five boundaries.
Earlier, Janakpur restricted Biratangar, which opted to bat first, on 58/7. Skipper Kajol Shreshta, Apsari Begam, Sangita Rai and Sabnam Rai were highest scorers for Biratangar with their eight runs each under their belt.
Player-of-the-match Anuradha and Saraswati Chaudhary claimed two wickets to help Janakpur restrict Biratnagar on low score.
In the first semifinal, APF met 77-run target set by Dhangadhi in 16 overs losing six wickets despite Kavita Kunwar's four-wicket haul for Dhangadhi.
Player-of-the-match Ritu Kanojiya remained not out with 17 runs off 15 balls for APF, while Madhu Thapa added 14 runs off 27 balls.
Kavita took four wickets giving away only 17 runs in four overs but failed to win the match for Dhangadhi. Sonu Khadka claimed two wickets.
Earlier, deciding to bat first, Dhangadhi bagged only 76 runs losing six wickets with Nirmala Shahi's 15 runs from 29 balls and Kavita Joshi's 12 runs off 15 balls.
Ritu, Sarita Magar, Sita Rana Magar and Neera Rajopadhyaya bagged one wicket each for the APF.
Meanwhile, the third place match between semifinal losers Biratnagar and Dhanagadhi will also be played on Wednesday at the same venue.
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