Region No 7 (Janakpur) and Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) entered the semifinals of Wai Wai Women´s U-19 National Cricket Tournament on Tuesday.
Defending champion Janakpur, which had lost its opening match against Nepalgunj on Sunday, registered an eight-wicket victory over Region No 2 (Birgunj) on Tuesday at the TU Cricket Ground to top Group A of the tournament. Janakpur had defeated Region No 3 (Kathmandu) on Monday. Nepalgunj lost to Kathmandu in super over on Tuesday.
Shanti Chaudhary receives player-of-the-match trophy
However, Nepalgunj qualified for the semifinals as the Group A runner-up as it has a better net run rate than Birgunj, which had defeated Kathmandu on Sunday. Nepalgunj had won its first match against Janakpur on Sunday and shared points with Birgunj on Monday after the match was abandoned due to rain.
In the crucial match, Birgunj elected to bat and put up 72/9 in the allotted 25 overs. In reply, Janakpur reached the low target in 17.1 overs losing only two wickets.
Shanti Chaudhary claimed three wickets while Mamta Chaudhary and Kritu Dahal took two wickets each for Janakpur to restrict Birgunj to a low total. Janakpur bowlers gave away 26 runs as extras. Rachana Aryal (17 runs off 42 balls) was the highest contributor for Birgunj and the only batswoman to reach double figures.
Chasing the small total, Nepalgunj openers Shanti Chaudhary and Sanju Chaudhary (4 runs off 18 balls) put up a 28-run partnership. Sita Shrestha claimed the wicket of Sanju while Shanti fell short of the crease after scoring 19 runs off 44 balls. However, Usha Bhujel (13 runs off 29 balls) and Mamta Chaudhary (12 runs off 13 balls) remained unbeaten to seal an easy victory. Birgunj conceded 25 extras.
Shanti Chaudhary was adjudged the player of the match for her all-round performance.
In the last match of Group A, Kathmandu defeated Nepalgunj in super over following a tie.
Nepalgunj elected to bat and put up 108/6 in the allotted 25 overs. In reply, Kathmandu also reached 108/8 in 25 overs.
Nepalgunj was at 14/4 at one stage but Saya Basnet and captain RekhaBC put up a 74-run partnership for the fifth wicket to rescue the team. BC was bowled by Sajani Shrestha after making 33 runs off 44 balls. Basnet scored 43 runs off 58 balls before she was run out.
Kathmandu also made a nervous start in the run-chase and was at 5/3 in 3.2 overs. However, Rabina Bhandari and Sangita Gauchan added 62 runs for the fourth wicket. Player-of-the-match Bhandari was run out after scoring a run-a-ball 40. She struck five boundaries. Gauchan remained unbeaten on 29 runs off 63 balls to guide the match to a thrilling tie.
In the super over, Kathmandu scored 11 runs without losing any wicket while Nepalgunj could reach only 5/0 in reply.
Group B matches will begin on Wednesday with Region No 1 (Biratnagar) taking on Region No 6 (Baitadi) and Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) locking horns with Region No 8 (Pokhara).