With the win, Kathmandu took the sole lead with six points. In other match of the day, Region no. 2-Birgunj beat region no. 5 Nepalgunj by 15 runs and opened the account in the tournament.
Batting first after winning the toss, Kathmandu piled up 137 runs for six wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Opener batsmen duo Paresh Lohani (38) and Subash Khakurekl (14) played a 46 runs stand for the first wicket before Khakurel was caught by wicket keeper Binod Bahndari off Prem Budal who got rid of Lohani too. Lohani struck two fences in his innings in 36 deliveries.
Skipper Paras Khadka smashed 35 runs in 17 balls which included three boundaries and a six. Likewise, Dipendra Chaudhary (24) chipped in a solid contribution. Manoj Sood was out for a duck while Raju Basnyat (06), Gyanendra Malla (04) and Sunam Gautam (08) were the other batsmen who were dismissed cheaply.
Naresh Budhayer, who was caught chucking in yesterday´s match, had a good day today as he claimed two wickets for Baitadi. Likewise, Bhuwan Karki and Prem Budal had two scalps each while Chandra Saud and Dhirendra Chand claimed one wicket each.
Baitadi started the run chase bravely. Opening duo Prem Chaudhary (25) and Binod Bhandari (24) put up a 42 runs partnership in 6 overs. But Pramod Basnet brought Kathmandu back into the match taking three quick wickets. Skipper Dhirendra Chand (23) and Pradip Ayree (18) tried to consolidate the Baitadi innings but it was too late as Baitadi could manage to score 124 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Dipendra Chaudhary and Pramod Basnet took 3 wickets for Kathmandu. Dipendra Chaudhary was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance.
In the second match of the day, Region no. 2 Birgunj defeated region no. 5 Nepalgunj by 15 runs. In a low scoring match, Birgunj won the toss and the skipper didn´t hesitate to bat first. Birgunj´s opener Shiva Tandukar (7) fell cheaply, but skipper Binod Das, who come on one down lifted his team, scoring the highest 31 runs off 37 deliveries. Along with Das, opener batsman Anil Mandal, who scored 21 off 31 deliveries, was the only other batsman to contribute double digits for the team. They accumulated 100 runs losing nine wickets. Mandal was adjudged the man-of the-match.
Other batsmen, Shiva Tandukar (02), Punit Thapa (03), Sanjam Regmi (06), Hari Shankar Shah (08), Yasin Hawari (07) and Hasim Ansari (09) had an early exit while Suraj Timilsina (03) remained unbeaten. Nepalgunj bowler Meeraj Ansari, Ranjeet Sijapati, Sandeep Shrestha and Subendu Pandey had one wicket each in their names.
In reply, Nepalgunj, which got an extra 17 runs, were packed off for 85 runs with the loss of eight wickets. Nepalgunj had a bad start lkand lost opening batsman Mahesh Chhetri for one run. Subendu Pandey, who scored 22 runs, Anupam Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 25 runs, and Rupesh Sharma (12) were the only batsmen to collect double figures.
Suraj Timilsina had three scalps for Birgunj while Anil Mandal sent two batsmen to the pavilion. Avinash Karn and Sanjam Regmi claimed one wicket apiece.
Points Table
Teams | Played | Won | Loss | Points |
R-3 (KTM) | 3 | 3 | -
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Bhandari, Basnet propel Sethu to second straight win
| 6 |
R-1 (BRT) | 2 | 2 | - | 4 |
R-4 (BHW) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
R-2 (BRG) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
R-6 (BTD) | 2 | - | 2 | - |
R-5 (NPG) | 2 | - | 2 | - |
