APF thumped Region no 9 (Dhangadhi) by eight wickets at the TU grounds in Kirtipur to make three out of three wins. Unlike APF, Baitadi missed the chance to secure semifinal place with a match in hand after it faced first defeat in third match of the group B. Baitadi faced one wicket defeat by Region no 4 (Bhairahawa) at the Pulchowk Engineering College grounds.
The result puts APF firmly on top of the standings with six points, two points ahead of second-placed Baitadi and third-placed Bhairahawa. Baitadi stands second on the basis of superior run rate. Baitadi and APF are yet to play a match before the group stage concludes.
The match between APF and Baitadi scheduled for Saturday will determine the second semifinalist from the group. A victory over APF or even a loss by narrow margin will be sufficient for Baitadi to progress into the semifinal.
APF Opener Subash Khakurel (23 off 35) and Pradeep Airee (not out 19 off 28) helped departmental team to achieve the meager target of 71 run in 13.1 over at the expenses of two wickets. The other opener Paresh Lohani contributed six runs while Dipendra Chaudhary remained unbeaten on one run.
Lalit Singh Bhandari and Binod Lama claimed one wicket each of APF.
Earlier, Dhangadhi opted to bat first and was bowled out for a small total of 70 runs after man-of-the-match Basnata Regmi pocketed five wickets. Sunil Dhamala (10) and Gyanendra Kunwar (10) were the only batsmen for Dhangadhi to collect runs in double digits.
Basanta gave away seven runs in his five over spell with a maiden over. Pradeep Airee and Bhuwan Karki bagged two wickets each for APF.
In another match, Baitadi missed the chance to secure semifinal place with a match in hand after first defeat in third match of the group B. Baitadi was handed one wicket defeat by Bhairahawa.
Put to bat first, Baitadi was bowled out for 133 runs in 29 over. Opener Prem Tamang (44 off 40) contributed highest runs for Baitadi. Roshan Nepali (10), Surendra Chand (17), Santosh Bhatta (15), Prashant Bista (12) and Kamal Airee (not out 13) contributed in double figure for Baitadi.
Bhairahawa bowler Kirtan Gurung pocketed three wickets while Lal Bahadur Adhikari and Saurav Khanal claimed two wickets each.
In the run chase, opener Faizal Khan quick-fired 42 off 24 and number three batsman Nischal Chaudhary remained not out on 40 runs as Bhairahawa made 137/9 in 26.4 over. Bishnu Pandey (13) was the only other batsman to contribute in double figure.
Baitadi's Kamal Airee claimed five wickets and Yogendra Karki bagged three.
Today's Fixture
APF Vs Region no 6 (Baitadi)
Venue: Pulchowk ground
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