KATHMANDU, Nov 12: The upper cricket ground of Mulpani has been inaugurated with a match between Member Secretary XI and Veterans XI on Saturday.
Although the Mulpani International Cricket Stadium is still under construction, the upper ground which is being taken as an alternate for TU Cricket Ground to host matches and training for the national team is now ready.
The very first match played on the ground was won by Member Secretary XI as it overcame Veterans XI by 87 runs.
National Sports Council (NSC)’s Member Secretary Keshav Kumar Bista said that a parapet with 1000 spectators’ capacity will be built on the ground.
Stakeholders seek budget for Mulpani ground
“This ground is now playable due to joint work of the Ministry of Sports, NSC and local people. Now we will construct parapet and prepare it to host the tournaments,” said Bista.
He also informed that the land compensation issue regarding Mulpani Stadium is now solved after the agreement on compensation package with land owners.
National team captain Paras Khadka said that the decade-long dream of playing cricket at Mulpani ground is now fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Member Secretary XI led by national team head coach Jagat Tamatta won the toss and decided to bat before making a total of 196 runs in allotted 20 overs losing out nine wickets.
In reply, Veterans XI was bowled out for 109 in 14.5 overs.
Sunil Dhamala scored highest 42 runs for Secretary XI, while Dipendra Chaudhary contributed 30 runs. Similarly, Binod Bhandari (39) was another notable contributor for the winning team.
Veterans XI’s Pawan Agrawal claimed three wickets while Manjeet Shrestha and Paresh Lohani added two wickets each.
Manjeet Shrestha smashed 23-ball 52 that included fives sixes and four boundaries for Veterans XI while Pawan Agrawal scored 33 runs.
Player-of-the-match Raju Basnet was pick of the Member Secretary XI as he completed five wickets haul and he was supported by Dipendra Chaudhary who bagged two wickets. Likewise, Aamir Akhtar, Jagat Tamatta, and Sharad Vesawkar added one wicket each.
