In what may look like the rematch of Thursday, Region No 2 (Birgunj) and Region No 3 (Kathmandu) on Friday set up title clash of the Wai Wai U-19 National Cricket.
Birgunj defeated Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) by six wickets in the semifinal to set up final against Kathmandu, which thumped Region No 7 (Janakpur) by 99 runs on Friday. Kathmandu had defeated Birgunj by two wickets in the group stage on Thursday.
At the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kanchanpur was bowled out for 232 runs in the penultimate ball of the innings after it won the toss and opted to bat first. Birgunj reached the target in 47 overs losing four wickets.
Player-of-the-match Ram Naresh Giri produced an all-round performance for Birgunj claiming two wickets and then scoring an unbeaten half-century in the run-chase.
Earlier, Bhim Sarki contributed the highest 80 runs for Kanchanpur hitting six fours and a six during his 88-ball knock. Opener Sunil Damal shared a 64-run partnership for the second wicket with Tekendra Mal (28) after Kanchanpur lost the first wicket with only eight runs on the board. Damal played a patient knock of 49 off 79 that included eight boundaries. Raju Rijal (12), Bhuwan Karki (17) and Yagyaman Kumal (12) were the other batsmen to reach double figures.
Arif Sheikh of Birgunj claimed three wickets giving away 43 runs in his 10 overs. Giri grabbed two while Kiran Budhathoki, Irshad Ahamad and Ashib Paudel took one each.
In the run-chase, the top-order batsmen made notable contributions for Birgunj, the only exception being opener Anil Shah (1). Opener Amit Shrestha scored 62 off 53, skipper Suraj Prasad Kurmi hit 37 off 88 and Sumit Kadmiya added 37 off 66. Similarly, Giri scored an unbeaten 50 off 35 and Arif Sheikh remained unbeaten on 27 off 33.
Shrestha, who reached his half-century in 39 balls, hit 11 boundaries while Giri’s fifty included nine boundaries.
In the other semifinal played at the Pulchowk ground, skipper Bibhatshu Thapa played a responsible innings of 116 and player-of-the-match Som Pal Kami also shone with the bat as Kathmandu recorded a comfortable victory over Janakpur. Kathmandu scored 295/6 and restricted Janakpur to 196/9.
Kathmandu chose to bat first and Thapa smashed 116 off 139 with 14 boundaries and a six. Similarly, Kami hammered seven fours and a six to race to 68 in 54 balls. Prakash Bista A (10), Pawan Shrestha (20) and Sharad Khadka (21 not out) also made notable contributions for Kathmandu that received 43 runs in extras.
Gopal Singh was the pick of the Janakpur bowlers with five wickets. He gave away 51 runs in 10 overs, which included a maiden over.
Defending the target, Kami took four wickets for Kathmandu conceding 32 runs. He bowled two maiden overs in his 10-over spell. Prakash Bista (B) and Sharad Khadka claimed two wickets each.
Tailender Kailash Mandal topscored for Janakpur with an unbeaten 41, while Prakash Khatri (29), Rahul Pratap Singh (28), Hari Shankar Sah (14), Abhishek Jha (14) and Gopal Singh (17) were the other batsmen to reach double figures.
The final will be held on Saturday at the Pulchowk ground.