Region No 1 (Biratnagar) lifted first ever women’s title on Monday as it beat Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) by two wickets in the final of the Wai Wai Women’s U-19 National Cricket Tournament at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Biratnagar elected to field and bundled out Bhairahawa for a small 63 runs in 18.1 overs in a match reduced to 20 overs per side from 25 overs due to rain. Sangita Rai took four wickets while Sabnam Rai, Sapana Shrestha, Sanjhana Budhathoki and Yanji Sherpa claimed a wicket each. Two of Bhairahawa batters were run out. Biratnagar put up disciplined bowling attack by conceding only 10 runs as extras.
Opener Barsa Rana (seven runs off 24 balls) and Pratikshya Bashyal put up a 26-run opening stand. Following Rana’s departure, Bashyal tried to anchor the innings but wickets kept on falling at the other end. Bashyal scored 32 runs off 49 balls including three boundaries. Rest of the Bhairahawa batters failed to reach even a 5-run mark.
Region No 1 (Biratnagar), which includes 12 players of Milan Cricket Club of Kakadvitta in Jhapa and two players from Saptari, reached the small target in 13.4 overs but losing eight wickets.
As Biratnagar lost opener Kajol Shrestha in the second over, another opener Rosana Rai (11 runs off 19 balls) and Sangita Rai put up a 25-run second wicket partnership. As Sanjhana Budhathoki (four runs) and Sangita Rai (15 runs off 31 balls) got out, Biratnagar suffered a middle order collapse.
However, Roma Thapa, who was playing with an injured right palm, remained unbeaten with seven runs off six balls and Sapana Shrestha supported her with two runs off two balls to seal the victory.
Indu Berma came to bowl the 14th over and claimed the wicket off Sujata Chhetri in the second ball to add nervousness to Biratnagar. However, she bowled the fifth ball wide, which turned out to be the victory run for Biratnagar. Bhairahawa gave away 21 runs as extras and it became the deciding factor of the match.
Biratnagar received winner’s trophy and a check of Rs 25,000 while runner-up Bhairahawa got Rs 15,000.
“We were approaching the match cautiously as we had lost the group-stage match against Bhairahawa. All the credit goes to the girls, who have labored hard during the training,” said Biratnagar coach Biru Shrestha. National women’s team captain Rubina Chhetri was the team manager of the Biratnagar team.
“Batting was our main strength but we failed on the very department. When Nitu Bhandari and Indu Berma got out, our expectation putting a good total shattered,” said Bhairahawa coach Basant Shahi. “While defending the low total, we became hopeful when Kajol Shrestha got out but we gave away too many extras, which became the crucial factor of the match,” he added.
Winner Region No 1 Biratnagar
Soniya Poudel claimed three wickets while Berma and Saiyya Gurung took two wickets each for Bhairahawa. Alisha KC also claimed a wicket.
Sangita Rai, who claimed four wickets and scored 15 runs for Biratnagar, was adjudged the player-of-the-final. She received Rs 5000.
Biratnagar all-rounder Sanjhana Budhathoki, who scored 81 runs and claimed six wickets in five matches of the tournament, was declared player-of-the-series. Budhathoki received Rs 10,000. Her teammate Kajol Shrestha, who scored 102 runs in three group-stage matches, was adjudged the best batswoman of the tournament while Bhairahawa bowler Soniya Poudel, who claimed eight wickets in three group-stage matches, was declared the best bowler. Shrestha and Poudel bagged Rs 5000 each.
National Sports Council Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) Vice Presidents Sriniwas Rana and Keshav Ghimire as well as sponsor Chaudhary Group’s General Managers Sajan Devkota and Pradeep Pudasaini gave away the prizes to the winners.