Region No 3 Kathmandu and Region No 4 Bhairahawa registered wins on the first day of the Birendra Memorial National League Cricket Tournament here on Sunday.
In the match held at TU ground, Kathmandu beat Birgunj by 36 runs, while Bhairahawa defeated Region No 5 Nepalgunj by 199 runs. The victory was biggest margin in the championsfip.
At TU, batting first Birgunj scored 174 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Sagar Pant remained unbeaten on 51 off 90 balls including four hits to the ropes, while No 3 batsman Monik Shrestha scored 40 off 84 balls including three fours before being caught and bowled by Pawan Agrawal. Opener Paresh Lohani scored 17 runs while Raju Basnet scored 24 runs, Basnet hit three boundaries in his 40-ball innings.
For Birgunj, Binod Das took three wickets conceding 34 runs in 10 overs, while Shyam Thapa gave away 48 runs in 10 overs to grab two wickets. Rajiv Shrestha, Sanjam Regmi and Pawan Agrawal pocketed one wicket each for Region No 2.
In reply, Birgunj failed to overcome the target and were packed off for 138 runs in 42.4 overs. Kimon Ojha top-scored for his team with 47 runs. Ojha hit three boundaries in his 99-ball innings.
Jay Prakash Sarraf scored 21 off 37 balls before being caught by Paresh off the bowling of Pramod Basnet. Opener Kanishka Chaugain scored 10 runs, while Katamuddin Ansari scored 17 before being trapped leg before the wicket by Bardan Chalise. Sanjam Regmi remained unbeaten on three.
For Kathmandu, Raju Basnet – man of the match – took four wickets conceding 24 runs in 8.4 overs. Pramod Basnet grabbed three wickets giving away 22 runs in 10 overs while Bardan Chalise pocketed two and Kalam Ali took one wicket.
In the match held at St Xavier’s ground, Jawalakhel, Basudev Thapa scored 59 runs as Bhairahawa scored a huge total of 254 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs.
Thapa hit eight boundaries in his 75-ball innings before being caught off the bowling of Mohammad Tajuddin. Opener Rigon Praju scored 31 off 38, while other opener Basanta Regmi scored 21 off 32 balls including one towering six and a boundary.
No 5 batsman Sachin Gupta scored 17 off 39 balls before being bowled by Rohit Sharma. Raju Khadka scored 13 while Prakash Gurung remained unbeaten on 18 off 31 balls. Manoj Baishya remained unbeated 32 runs. Manoj hit six boundaries in his 30-balls innings.
For Nepalgunj, Arvin Karna, Arun Thapa and MD Tajuddin took two wickets each while Arun Thapa grabbed one.
In reply, Nepalgunj boys were packed off for paltry 55 runs in 25.3 overs. However this the not lowest score in the championship. Last year Nepalgunj scored the lowest of 46. Deepak Malla, non-striking opener scored 25 off 41 balls including four hits to the fence before being dismissed by Basanta Shahi.
No 11 batsman Gopal Bhatta remained unbeaten on 14 off nine balls including three hits to the boundary while five batsmen returned to the pavillion for a duck and others failed to reach double figures.
For Bhairahawa, Raju Khadka and Shakti Gauchan took three wickets each while Dipesh Khatri grabbed two and Raju Khadka pocketed one. Manij Baishya of Region No 4 was declared the man of the match.