Region No 6 Baitadi defeated Region No 3 Kathmandu by five wickets during the Pepsi One Day National Cricket Tournament to book their first semifinal berth in any national level tournament.
After Baitadi beat Kathmandu in the group A match, Region No 2 Birgunj got out of the tournament as they remained at the bottom of the group because of net run rate.
Kathmandu, batting first at the TU Cricket Ground, were all out for 134 runs in 39.4 overs. Gyanendra Malla (27 runs) was the top scorer for Kathmandu while Dipendra Chaudhary contributed 24 runs. Subash Khakurel added 21 runs.
Bhuwan Karki took four wickets while Santosh Bhatta claimed three wickets to rattle Kathmandu.
Baitadi met the target in 38.5 overs losing five wickets. Man-of-the-match Pradeep Ayree scored unbeaten 64 runs off 109 balls including five boundaries and three sixes. Santosh Bhatta added 26 runs for the winning side.
Baitadi will face Region No 1 Biratnagar in the semifinals while Kathmandu will face group ´B´ winners Region No 4 Bhairahawa.
Bhairahawa defeated Region No 5 Nepalgunj on Thursday at the Pulchowk Cricket Ground by 13 runs, which ensured semifinal berth for them and Biratnagar.
Batting first, Bhairahawa were all out for 194 runs in 45.5 overs. Opener Subash Pradhan scored 50 runs off 49 balls including 10 boundaries. Durgesh Rajali added 42 runs to take Bhairahawa to 194 runs.
Subhendu Pandey claimed four wickets for Nepalgunj.
In reply, Nepalgunj were all out for 181 runs in 48.3 overs. Man-of-the-match Pandey topscored for the side with 65 runs off 90 balls including six boundaries and three sixes.
However, Pandey could not seal victory for Nepalgunj as Rahul Kumar BK claimed three wickets and Lal Bahadur Adhikari took two wickets for Bhairahawa.