KATHMANDU, Jan 5: Nepal international and Province 3 captain Subash Khakurel articulated a tricky chase to defeat Province 1 by eight wickets during the Manmohan Memorial National One-Day Cricket Tournament (MM Cup) final Group C match being held in Inaruwa on Saturday.
Province 3 qualified for the semifinals after the win. Chasing a target of 145 runs in 28 overs, Province 3 completed the chase in 26 overs. The match was reduced to 28 overs per side after late start due to wet conditions in the morning.
Player-of-the-match Khakurel led the chase with his unbeaten 85 runs. He faced 73 deliveries and smashed seven boundaries and five sixes during the match winning innings. The wicket-keeper batsman shared a partnership of 34 runs with opening partner Rit Gautam, 36 with Aadil Khan for the second wicket and unbeaten 63 runs with Jitendra Singh Thakuri to seal the win. Gautam and Khan contributed 17 and 11 runs respectively whereas Thakuri remained not out on 17 runs to aid the victory.
Airee, Khakurel tons propel APF into semis
With the win, Province 3 surpassed Province 1 on points table with a total of four points against Province 1’s three. Province 3 had shared a point each against Province 5 after rain intervened the match on Friday. Shuvankar Urao picked up two wickets whereas DipeshKandel, the hero of Province 1’s first match win, was limited to a wicket.
Earlier, Province 3 won the toss and invited Province 1 to bat first. Captain Pushpa Thapa registered a 41-ball 50 runs which included five fours and two sixes. Opening batsman Minash Thapa scored 20 runs off 42 deliveries which were the two top contributions of the innings. Firdosh Ansari chipped in with 18 runs whereas Raj Thapa contributed 10.
Pace bowler Nandan Yadav was pick of the bowlers with four wickets to his name whereas Ram NareshGiri scalped two wickets in the innings. Similarly, Pratish GC, Ishan Pandey and Thakuri shared a wicket each. Last batsman Kamal Khatri was run-out in the last ball of the innings as Province 1 innings bundled out for 144 runs in 28 overs.
Province 3 advanced to the semifinals whereas Province 1 and Province 5’s journey ended in the group stage of the second season of MM Cup.
Group A matches will start from Sunday with departmental teams Armed Police Force Club and Tribhuvan Army Club facing each other. Local team Manmohan Memorial
Cricket Club (MMCC) Inaruwa is the third team in the group. The winner of the
group stage will qualify for the semifinals.
