Cricket Nepal (Archive)

Kailali Multiple Campus defeated Tikapur Multiple Campus by 21 runs while  Aishwarya Vidya Niketan, Dhangadhi thrashed Ghodaghodi Multiple Campus, Sukkhad by nine wickets on the second day of the Hotel Devotee SPA Cup Cricket Tournament in Dhangadhi on Tuesday.

Niranjan Bohara of Kailali Multiple Campus poses for a photograph with man-of-the-match award in Dhangadhi on Tuesday. (Photo Courtesy: SPA)

In the first match of the day, Tikapur won the toss and elected to field. Kailali put up 101/8 in the allotted 20 overs as opener Prakash Bhatta and Raman Bam shared a 46-run partnership. Bhatta scored 20 runs including two fours and a six while Bam added 11 runs. Gyanendra Chhetri (16 runs) and Suresh Dhami (11 runs) were the other major contributors for Kailali.

Chandra Rimal claimed three wickets for Tikapur while Nirmal Saud, Keshar Khadka, Dipak Subedi and Keshar Kunwar took a wicket each.

Chasing 102 runs for victory, Tikapur was all out for 80 runs. Devendra Tamata and Madhav Od, who scored 12 runs each, were the major contributors for Tikapur.

Nirajan Bohara claimed three wickets for Kailali. Bohara’s bowling figure was 4-1-7-3. He received Rs 5,000 for his man-of-the-match performance. Aadesh Chaudhary and Binod Lama took two wickets each while Sanjoy Panta and Gyanendra Chhetri claimed a wicket each.

In the second match of the day, Ghodaghodi elected to bat and was all out for 57 runs in 13.5 overs. In reply, Aishwarya reached 61/1 in 6 overs.

Dinesh Khadka scored 17 runs while Mandeep Suri added 15 runs for Ghodaghodi while man-of-the-match Kamal Raj Joshi and Naresh Thapa took three wickets each for Aishwarya. Ghanashyam Chaudhary claimed two wickets while Basu Giri and Amit Padal claimed a wicket each to bundle out Ghodaghodi.

Dharam Khadka scored an unbeaten 18 runs off 21 balls including two fours while Sagar Magar remained not out on 36 runs off 15 balls to seal the victory for Aishwarya. Magar blasted four sixes and two fours.

Pentagon College, Kathmandu thrashed Durga Laxmi Multiple Campus, Kailali by 101 runs in the inaugural match of the third edition of the Hotel Devotee SPA Cup, inter college cricket tournament, in Dhangadhi on Monday. Following the win, Pentagon secured berth in quarterfinal of the tournament.

Man-of-the-match Naresh Budaair receives the award. (Photo Courtesy:SPA)

Durga Laxmi won the toss and elected to field. Batting first, Pentagon put up 199/8 in allotted 20 overs as Naresh Budhayer blasted 59 runs and Pushpa Thapa scored unbeaten 56 runs. Opener Mahesh Chhetri (nine runs) and Mehboob Alam (24 runs) gave a good start to Pentagon putting up 43-run stand within 3.4 overs. Janak Kunwar dismissed Chhetri and Alam, both.

To guide Pentagon to the huge total, Budhayer struck eight boundaries and two sixes in his 35-ball innings. Thapa hit five boundaries and a six in his unbeaten knock as opponent dropped his catch for four times.

Durga Laxmi bowlers Kunwar and Subodh Bhatta claimed two wickets each.

Chasing the mammoth total, Durga Laxmi was all out for 98 runs in 18.4 overs. Gyanendra Kunwar (22 runs) and Bhuwan Malla (21 runs) were the highest scorers for Durga Laxmi. Puran Thapa and Mahendra Bhattarai added 12 runs each while rest of the batsmen failed to produce double-digit scores.

Binod Chhetri showed the way to pavilion to the first three batsmen while man-of-the-match Budhayer took four wickets to wrap up Durga Laxmi’s innings. Budhayer bowled 3.4 overs and gave away 20 runs to claim the four wickets. He received Rs 5,000.

Giving shape to the idea forwarded by national team coach Pubudu Dassanayake some six months ago, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) formally opened National Cricket Academy (NCA) at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur on Tuesday.

According to Dassanayake, the national team coach would head NCA along with other coaches and staffers. NCA will provide continuous training facilities to the Nepali national squad, Nepal A, Nepali U-19 team and women’s national team.

CAN has appointed Jagat Tamata and Binod Das as coaches and Ram Shiwakoti as data and video analyst at NCA. CAN has set up its office and a gymnasium in the TU Ground storehouse.

According to Dassanayake, NCA will launch introductory programs for U-12 players soon. The introductory program includes weekly training for U-12 players.

“We’ll launch special training programs in future by appointing technical analyst, physiotherapist and fitness trainer as well as batting, bowling and fielding coaches,” said Dassanayake. “We’ll try to expand NCA to other parts of the country. We’ll try to establish other three branches of NCA outside the Kathmandu Valley by next year,” he added.

Dassanayake said he came up with the concept of NCA after experiencing effectiveness of such academies in Test-playing nations.

“Cricket boards of all Test nations have their own academies. They have been effective in all these countries,” explained Dassanayake. “Even a good Nepali player gets chance to play only one or two tournaments in a calendar year. If he fails once, he is lost. NCA could be the remedy as it provides regular training facilities, rehabilitation and psychological counseling to players,” he added.

Former national team captain Binod Das opined that the initiative could open the doors for the development of Nepali cricket and international success.

National team captain Paras Khadka termed NCA as an academy that would produce new cricketing talents. “Establishing NCA would spread positive message to all the young cricketers,” said Khadka.

Meanwhile, CAN President Tanka Aangbuhang requested all the cricket lovers not to have great expectations from NCA but that it would take great strides in the future.

CAN will take all financial responsibility of NCA at present but hopes to ink sponsorship deals to attract more financial support in future.

National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama inaugurated NCA amidst a function on Tuesday. Member Secretary Lama said NSC is ready to provide financial support to NCA. “We are ready to provide financial support from today. It would be easier for NSC if CAN sends us budget detail of NCA to us soon,” said Lama.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has called 37 cricketers for closed camp training for ACC T20 Elite Cup and ICC World Cricket League Division 3 tournaments.

CAN called 35 players based on their performances in the Pepsi Standard Chartered One-Day and T20 National Tournaments held last month. Two other players – former captain Binod Das and Saurav Khanal – earned call-up based on their performances at international level in recent past. The duo had missed the national tournaments due to injuries.

“National squad and ‘Nepal A’ team would be formed from the pool of players called for the closed camp,” states a press release issued by CAN on Sunday.

ParasKhadka, PareshLohani, SharadVesawkar, SubashKhakurel, SunamGautam, PrithuBanskota, GyanendraMalla, AmritBhattarai, BasantRegmi and Shakti Gauchan have been called for the closed camp. Similarly, SanjamRegmi, ManjeetShrestha, PuspaThapa, Kumar Thapa, AmitShrestha, AvinashKarn, Naresh Raj Giri, JitendraMukhiya, Rajesh Pulami, PrakashBista, Sagar Pun, Krishna Karki, NischalChaudhary, FajlurRahman Khan, BinodBhandari, BhuwanKarki, NareshBudhayer, PradeepAiree, Chandra Saud, Mahendra Chand, YagyamanKumal, Anil Mandal, SanjogKarna, Hari Shankar Shah and Rahul BK have also been named in the list for closed camp.

None of the players from Region No. 5 (Nepalgunj) made it to the 37-member list.

The ACC T20 Elite Cup — the qualifying tournament for the World T20 Qualifiers — is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from March 24 to April 3, while ICC World Cricket League Division 3 will be held in Bermuda from April 28 to May 5.

Nepal would not meet Afghanistan and the UAE in the group stage of the ACC T20 Cup to be held in Kathmandu from March 25 to April 3.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is yet to publish the draw of the tournament, it is almost sure Nepal would avoid the UAE and Afghanistan in the group stage as ACC usually divides group as per the seeding given to the teams based on the ACC Trophy Elite.

Nepal and the UAE had shared the title of the ACC Trophy Elite held in the UAE three months ago with a tie result in the final. However, Nepal gets the top seeding for the T20 tournament as the host and as it had defeated the UAE in the group stage of the ACC Trophy Elite.

As per ACC’s tradition of drawing teams, Nepal is to meet fourth seed Malaysia, fifth seed Hong Kong, eighth seed Maldives and ninth seed Singapore in the group stage while the UAE (second seed), Afghanistan (third), Oman (sixth), Kuwait (seventh) and Bahrain (10th) in another group.

According to a source, the host Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has been preparing for the tournament as per the same ACC guideline.

Top two teams of the tournament, except Afghanistan, will qualify to the World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in November. Afghanistan, a team with One-Day status, gets automatic qualification for the qualifiers.

Tie-sheet changed for ACC Women’s Championship

Meanwhile, ACC made amendments in the tie-sheet of the upcoming ACC Women’s Championship to be held in Thailand from January 23 to 31 as Afghanistan withdrew from from the tournament.

Earlier, Nepal, defending champion Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bhutan, the UAE and Afghanistan were slated in the group A and Nepal was to play with Afghanistan in its first match.

Following the amendments, Nepal will now play Bhutan on January 24 in its first match. Nepal will take on the UAE on January 25, Malaysia on January 27 and Hong Kong on January 28. Thailand, China, Singapore, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar are slated in group B of the tournament. Winner of the tournament will qualify to Women’s World T20 Qualifiers to be held in Ireland in August.

Cricket brought home glory in 2012 as Nepali national team lifted the World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite titles. Nepali U-19 girls completed a title hat-trick in the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship. Despite failures in the ICC U-19 World Cup and ACC Women’s T20 tournament, 2012 was a year that instilled hope.

Nepal emerged as the champion in the World Cricket League Division 4 held in Malaysia in September. It is the Nepali national team´s biggest success so far. Nepal defeated Singapore, Tanzania, Malaysia, the USA and Denmark in the round robin league and beat the USA by eight wickets in the final.

To guide Nepal to the title, Shakti Gauchan bowled a miraculous spell of 10-8-2-3, the best economy in One-Day between the nations, against Malaysia. Subash Khakurel scored 115 runs against the USA in the league round and Anil Mandal blasted 113 runs against Denmark. Spinner Basant Regmi completed two five-wicket hauls in the tournament to finish with 21 wickets in six matches.

Nepali national cricket team poses for a photo at the Tribhuwan International Airport on its arrival in Kathmandu after winning the World Cricket League Division 4 held in Malaysia in September.

Likewise, Nepal shared the ACC Trophy Elite with the host UAE in October. A roller-coaster ride and a last-over drama, nothing could keep Nepal and the UAE from sharing the title. The final match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium ended in a tie as Nepal reached 241/9 after the completion of 50 overs and the UAE put up 241/6. Nepal had defeated the UAE in the first match of the tournament by four wickets, the first ever victory over UAE at the senior level in One-Day format.

Nepali captain Paras Khadka was awarded player-of-the-series. Khadka was the top scorer of the tournament as he scored 291 runs from five innings of six matches with an average of 72.75. He also claimed nine wickets in the tournament. Nepali spinner Gauchan finished the tournament as the most successful bowler. Gauchan claimed 15 wickets in six matches with an economy of 3.18.

In March, Nepal finished the ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in the UAE in the seventh position among the associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nepal beat Hong Kong, Denmark, Bermuda, Kenya and Papua New Guinea in the tournament but lost to Afghanistan, the Netherlands and Canada. As the pick of the Nepali bowlers, Gauchan took four wickets including a hat-trick against Denmark to become the first Nepali male bowler to complete a hat-trick in international tournaments.

ESPN CricInfo, a cricket website, named Nepal’s captain Khadka and Gauchan among the Best XI of the World T20 Qualifiers. Khadka scored 254 runs and took seven wickets in the tournament while Gauchan claimed 16 wickets.

National team coach Pubudu Dassanayake was the architect of the phenomenal success as he kept players busy round the year.

He arranged a training session for Gauchan with Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals, sent skipper Khadka to Canada to play professional tournament for Ontario Cricket Club and Academy and arranged places for fast bowlers Chandra Saud and Amrit Bhattarai in the U-23 tournament of Sri Lanka. He arranged a special training for Anil Mandal, Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra Malla in India. On the other hand, he engaged national players in training sessions regularly.

Nepali U-16 boys finished runners-up in the ACC U-16 Elite Cup in May as they lost to host Malaysia by one wicket.

Nepal defended the title of ACC U-19 Women´s Championship held in Kuwait in February to complete a title hat-trick. Rubina Chhetri, the team captain, took 13 wickets and scored 71 runs in the tournament. She was adjudged the player of the tournament.

However, the year was not equally good for the Nepali U-19 boys´ team and the senior women’s team.

The U-19 team crashed out from the group stage of the ACC U-19 Asian Cup held in Malaysia in June as mighty India and Pakistan thrashed Nepal. In consolation, Nepal edged past Malaysia by 107 runs in the tournament.

U-19 boys put up a miserable performance during the ICC U-19 World Cup held in Australia in August. Nepal lost its first four matches with Australia, Ireland, England and Sri Lanka but won the play-off matches against Namibia and Papua New Guinea to finish the tournament in the 13th position.

Likewise, Nepali women’s team crashed out of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup held in China in October. The defeat against the mighty Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the tournament was expected but Nepali women also lost to China.

Nepal participated in the Blind Cricket World Cup held in India in December. Nepal beat Bangladesh in its first match but lost all other matches in the tournament. However, the participation alone could be counted as success of Nepali blind cricket.

In domestic tournaments, Armed Police Force (APF) Club maintained its dominance in 2012. APF won the National One-Day Tournament and National T20 Tournament in December. Likewise, APF won the Indian Ambassador Cup T20, both men’s and women’s gold medals in the Sixth National Games and the Women’s National T20 title.

Janakpur lifted the National Women´s U-19 title in January while the U-16 and U-19 teams from Baitadi won the titles in their respective national level age group tournaments.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) signed a five-year sponsorship deal worth Rs 21 million with CG Foods for the U-19 team and started paying salaries to the national team members.

As another positive gesture, CAN offered the role of goodwill ambassador of Nepali cricket to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni during his Nepal visit in June.

However, incompetence of CAN officials came to light in February as the Asian Cricket Council slapped a 10 per cent deduction on the capital and development grant for Nepal as CAN failed to submit the financial report within the deadline. ACC provides USD 1.75 million annually as capital and development grant and USD 1.6 million as administrative grant to Nepal.

(Source: REPUBLICA)

Armed Police Force (APF) Club clinched the title of Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament on Saturday as it thrashed Region No 6 (Baitadi) by 95 runs in the final at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.

It is consecutive title victory of APF, which won One-Day National Tournament last week.

APF elected to bat and put up 167/5 in 20 overs as Gyanendra Malla and skipper Paras Khadka completed half centuries. Sanjam Regmi dismissed four batsmen of Baitadi while Shakti Gauchan claimed three wickets to bundle out Baitadi for 72 runs in 14.4 overs.

APF lost its opener Paresh Lohani without scoring a run in the very first over but another opener Subash Khakurel (21 runs off 17 balls) put up 71-run partnership with Malla for the second wicket. Malla anchored the APF innings and put up 68-run partnership with Khadka (53 runs off 26 balls). Malla scored 69 runs off 59 balls including seven boundaries and a six while Khadka struck three boundaries and four sixes in his blistering innings. Sharad Vesawkar chipped in with 20 runs off 12 balls for APF. Chandra Sawad and Shiva Raj Swar claimed two wickets each while Prem Budal took a wicket for Baitadi.

Players of winner APF Club pose for a photograph after winning the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament on Saturday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. (Photo Courtesy: CAN

Chasing the good total, Baitadi could not resist APF bowling attack. Binod Bhandari (24 runs off 10 balls), Naresh Budayer (23 runs off 23 balls) and Prem Tamang (11 runs off 13 balls) are only the batsmen to score in double figures.

Sanjam Regmi gave away 15 runs in four overs and claimed four wickets while Gauchan’s bowling figure was 2.4-0-3-3. Sunam Gautam sent two Baitadi batsmen back to the pavilion while Basant Regmi took a wicket.

APF batsman Malla was adjudged man-of-the-match for his well-built innings.

Winner APF received Rs 1, 25,000 and the trophy while runner-up Baitadi got Rs 75,000.

APF was the runner-up of the last edition as Nepal Police Club had won the T20 domestic title last year. However, NPC has not participated in the tournament this time.

APF coach Raju Basnet applauded his team and captain Paras Khadka for the success. “Paras has been performing well in the finals of domestic tournaments and he repeated it against Baitadi,” said Basnet. “We have depth in our batting order and our bowler restricted attacking batsmen of Baitadi to seal the victory,” he added.

Skipper Khadka credited teamwork as the reason behind the success. “Overall we played better cricket today. As Baitadi lost its opener early, we came out of pressure gradually,” said Khadka.

“Opener batsmen could not settle on the crease and their dismissal added pressure on us,” said Basudev Joshi, the coach of Baitadi. “I made a mistake of sending Binod Bhandari and Roshan Nepali as openers. It could have been better if I had paired Binod with Mahendra Chand,” lamented Joshi.

Meanwhile, APF wicketkeeper batsman Subash Khakurel received awards for the player-of-the-series and the best batsman. Khakurel scored 274 runs in six matches with an average of 91.33 and strike rate of 157.35. He had scored two half-centuries in the tournament including unbeaten 93 runs against Region No 3 Kathmandu. Khakurel receive Rs 25,000 in total, Rs 15,000 for the player-of-the-series award and Rs 10,000 for being the best batsman of the tournament.

Rahul BK, bowler of Region No 8 (Pokhara), bagged Rs 10,000 as he was announced as the best bowler of the tournament. BK claimed 11 wickets from four matches with the economy of 6.25.

Meanwhile, Binod Lama of Baitadi was adjudged emerging player of the tournament. He has claimed nine wickets from the five matches he played in the tournament with the economy rate of 5.06.

National Sports Council Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama, Standard Chartered Bank Acting CEO Diwakar Poudel, Barun Beverage representative Vikram Thapa and Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) officials gave away the awards and prizes to the winners.

Region No 6 (Baitadi) pulled a thrilling one-wicket victory in the last ball against Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) on Friday and set up a final clash against Armed Police Force (APF) Club, which thrashed Region No 8 (Pokhara) by 95 runs, in the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament.

Chasing 110-run target at the TU Cricket Ground, Baitadi was to score seven runs in the last over with two wickets in hand. Mahendra Chand kept his cool but Binod Lama (1 run) lost his wicket in the fourth ball of the last over after falling short to the crease. In the last ball off Krishna Karki, Chand had to score a run to seal the victory but he top edged the last ball for four. Bibek Chaudhary claimed four wickets and Karki had taken two wickets to trouble Baitadi. Mahendra Chand remained unbeaten with 11 runs off seven balls. Opener Binod Bhandari scored 20 runs while Prem Tamnag (31 runs), Naresh Budhayer (15 runs), Bhuwan Karik (22 runs) and Santosh Bhatt (10 runs) chipped in the middle order to guide Baitadi near to the target.

Earlier, opener Sagar Pun scored 39 runs to guide Bhairahawa to 109/9 in 20 overs. Fajlur Rahman Khan (14 runs), Krishna Karki (12 runs) and Subash Pradhan (10 runs) were the only other Bhairahawa batsmen to score in double figure. Man-of-the-match Chandra Sawad took four wickets and Binod Lama dismissed two others to restrict Bhairahawa in a low score.

Basant Regmi of APF takes a catch during the semifinal match of the Pepsi Standard Chartered National T20 Cricket Tournament against Pokhara at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur on Friday.

In the first semifinal of the tournament, Pokhara elected to field but APF put up a mammoth 160/3 in 20 overs. APF skipper Paras Khadka remained not out with 51 runs off 29 balls while Sharad Vesawkar added unbeaten 12 runs. Paresh Lohani (20 runs), Subash Khakurel (38 runs) and Basant Regmi (18 runs) were the other major contributors for APF. Rahul BK claimed two wickets while Nischal Pandey took a wicket for Pokhara.

Chasing the good tatal, Pokhara was all out for 65 runs in 17.2 overs as Sanjam Regmi dismissed four Pokhara batsmen and Sharad Vesawkar claimed three wickets. Sunam Gautam took two wickets while Basant Regmi claimed a wicket for APF. Anil Gurung (14 runs) and Rijan Prajoo (10 runs) were the top scorers for Pokhara.

The final match will be played on Saturday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) trimmed national women’s team to 18 members on Friday and appointed Rubina Chhetri Belbase as captain.The CAN had called 25 woman cricketers to the first round of closed camp to prepare for the upcoming ACC Women’s Championship.

The 18-member team includes Saraswati Chaudhary, Karuna Bhandari, Sarita Magar, Rashmi Sharma Chaulagain, Silu Rijal, Indu Verma, Trishna Singh, Rekha Rawal, Shova Ale Magar, Mamta Thapa, Sangita Gauchan, Madhu Thapa, Nira Rajopadhyay, Sonu Khadka, Nery Thapa, Roshani Bohara and Sita Rana Magar.

Among the 25 called up for the first round of closed camp, Arati Bidari, Anjali Chand, Kabita Gautam, Manisha Rawal, Janaki Bhatta, Mamata Kumari Chaudhary and Geeta Chudal are excluded from the team.

The championship is scheduled to be held in Thailand from January 21 to 31. The CAN will announce the final squad of 14 players later.

Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) qualified to the semifinal of the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament from pool A along with the group leader Armed Police Force (APF) Club on Thursday.

Bhairahawa thrashed Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by 82 runs at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur to become runner-up in the pool A while APF humiliated Region No 3 (Kathmandu) by 61 runs to top the group.

APF will lock horns with pool B runner-up Region No 8 (Pokhara) while Bhairahawa will take on Region No 6 (Baitadi) in the semifinals on Friday at the TU Cricket Ground.

In a virtual quarterfinal, Subash Pradhan scored a half-century against Biratnagar to guide Bhairahawa to semifinal. Bhairahawa elected to bat but was all out for 122 runs in 19.2 overs. Veteran spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan dismissed five batsmen from Bhairahawa but man-of-the-match Pradhan scored 54 runs off 46 balls to guide his team to competitive total. Opener Sagar Pun contributed 27 runs off 26 balls and Nischal Chaudhary chipped in with 15 runs off 10 balls.

In reply, Biratnagar put up a horrible batting show and managed to score only 40 at close. Kalicharan Yadav didn’t come to crease as he was retired hurt and Biratnagar lost all nine wickets in 14.1 overs. Krishna Karki took three wickets and Lal Bahadur Adhikari claimed two wickets to restrict Biratngar in low total. Manoj Mandal (12 runs) and Sunny Pun (10 runs) were the highest contributors for Biratnagar.

Bhairahawa has six points from four matches as Biratnagar has four points. Group leader APF, which won all the four matches in the group, has eight points.

Sharad Vesawkar of APF bowls against Region No 3 Kathmandu during their match of Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur on Thursday.

APF elected to bat and put up 176/2 in 20 overs as Subash Khakurel contributed unbeaten 93 runs off 64 balls. Khakurel struck nine boundaries and two sixes. Gyanendra Malla also remained unbeaten with 69 runs off 42 balls including six boundaries and a six. APF was at 25/2 in 3.6 overs as Keshav Raj Pant dismissed Paresh Lohani (nine runs) and Sanjay Shrestha (1 run) but Khakurel and Malla put up 151-run partnership for third wicket.

In reply, Kathmandu could reach only 115/9 in 20 overs. Rajesh Pulami tried to anchor the Kathmandu innings with 53 runs off 43 balls including five boundaries and two sixes but could not resist the matured bowling attack of APF. Rabin Joshi added 22 runs off 35 balls for Kathmandu. Shakti Gauchan, Sanjam Regmi and Sharad Vesawkar claimed two wickets each for APF.

APF’s wicketkeeper-batsman Khakurel, who also made three stumping and took a catch, was adjudged man-of-the-match.

Armed Police Force (APF) Club, Region No 6 (Baitadi) and Region No 8 (Pokhara) confirmed semifinal berths in the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.
Baitadi defeated Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) by 10 wickets to maintain its winning streak and top Pool B of the tournament. Baitadi has six points from three matches. Region No 7 (Janakpur) defeated Region No 8 (Pokhara) by five wickets on Wednesday but the latter qualified for the semifinals with a superior net run rate as both the teams have two points each.

At TU Ground, Kirtipur, Nepalgunj elected to bat but Baitadi bundled the team out for 100 runs in 17.3 overs. Man-of-the-match Santosh Bhatta completed a five-wicket haul for Baitadi while Bhuwan Karki and Binod Lama claimed two wickets each. Mahesh Chhetri (25 runs off 20 balls) and Bhupendra Thapa (20 runs off 29 balls) were the biggest contributors for Nepalgunj.

In reply, opener Binod Bhandari blasted 76 runs off 54 balls and Saroj Rawal scored 20 runs off 36 balls to guide Baitadi to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory. Bhandari struck seven fours and five sixes.
Meanwhile, in a crucial match of Pool B, Pokhara elected to bat and put up 137/9 in 20 overs. Janakpur would have qualified for the semifinals had it met the target in 11.4 overs. However, Janakpur took 13 overs to reach the target. Rahul BK made 50 runs off 34 balls for Pokhara while Amrit Shrestha chipped in with 24 runs and Akash Thapa scored 22 runs to guide Pokhara to a competitive total.
Janakpur opener Anil Mandal, who took three wickets, shone with the bat also. Man-of-the-match Mandal clobbered 94 runs off 54 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes. However, Rahul BK claimed three wickets and Pradip Kharel claimed a wicket to slow down Janakpur´s innings and secure a semifinal berth for Pokhara.
After the match, Janakpur skipper Kumar Prasoon announced his retirement from national cricket tournaments but said he would continue his cricket career in club and other formats.
Likewise, APF reached the semifinals from Pool A on Wednesday. APF has six points from three matches while Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) and Region No 1 (Biratnagar) have four points each from three matches. Bhairahawa and Biratnagar will face each other in the last group stage match on Thursday.
Bhairahawa edged past Region No 2 (Birgunj) by 29 runs on Wednesday while Biratnagar pulled off a 19-run victory over Region No 3 (Kathmandu) at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur.
Bhairahawa elected to bat and was all out for 142 runs in 19.3 overs. Nischal Chaudhary (24 runs), Krishna Karki (24 runs) and Subash Pradhan (22 runs) were the major contributors for Bhairahawa while Jitendra Mukhiya and Narayan Patel dismissed three batsmen each.
Birgunj managed to reach only 113/9 in 20 overs as Sushan Bhari, who had scored 13 runs earlier, claimed three wickets. Moinuddin Khan and Bibek Chaudhary claimed two wickets each. Jitendra Mukhiya (30 runs) and Kanchan Thapa (23 runs) were the top two scorers for Birgunj. Bhari was adjudged the man-of-the-match.
Meanwhile, Biratnagar put up 146/5 in 20 overs and restricted Kathmandu to 127/9 in 20 overs to revive its semifinal hopes. Man-of-the-match Sunny Pun hit 50 runs off 53 balls and Manoj Mandal remained unbeaten on 43 runs off 26 balls for Biratnagar. Bijay Gautam took three wickets for Kathmandu.
Chasing the total, Pramod Basnet scored 52 runs off 37 balls but could not guide Kathmandu to victory. Mehboob Alam and Pushpa Thapa claimed two wickets each for Biratnagar.

Indu Verma put up an all-round performance to help Apex Boarding School of Rupandehi clinched the title of the Third Inter School Wai Wai Girls’ National Cricket Tournament on Sunday. Apex defeated Suryodaya Higher

Players and officials of winner Apex poses for a photograph.
Courtesy: CAN

Secondary School by nine wickets in the final played at Belbas, Rupandehi.

Apex successfully chased a 74-run target in 8.2 overs losing only a wicket. Pratiksha Bashyal scored unbeaten 22 runs and Indu Verma contributed unbeaten 21 runs to seal the victory for Apex. Sapana Shrestha took the one wicket for Suryodaya.

Earlier, Suryodaya had put up 73/8 in 15 overs. Roma Thapa (16 runs), Geeta Prasain (12 runs) and Sapana Shrestha (10 runs) were the major contributors for Suryodaya. Verma claimed two wickets while Soniya Paudel, Alisha KC and Barsha Rana took a wicket each for Apex.

Player-of-the-final Verma was also adjudged player-of-the-series. She also received award as the best batswomen of the tournament. Sangita Rai of Suryodaya bagged the prizes for the best bowler of the tournament.

Meanwhile, DAV Boarding School, Sarlahi defeated Buddhajyoti Boarding School, Kapilbastu by five wickets in the third-place play-off played at the Karmadada on Sunday.

DAV successfully chased the 51-run target in 10.3 overs losing five wicket as Manisha Chaulagain and Mamata Chaulagain scored 11 and nine runs respectively. Sabitri GC claimed three wickets for Buddhajyoti. Earlier, Buddhajyoti was all out for 50 runs in 15.2 overs. Radha Ghimire (13 runs) and Priya Gaire (10 runs) were the major contributors.

Player-of-the-match Pushpa Aryal claimed four wickets for DAV and Nirmala Pakwal took two wickets to bowled out Buddhajyoti in low score.

Winning team members received Rs 3,000 each while members of runner-up team bagged Rs 2,000 each.

One-Day champion Armed Police Force (APF) Club started also the Pepsi Standard Chartered T-20 National Cricket Tournament in a winning note as Region No 1 (Biratnagar), Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) and Region No 6 (Baitadi) sealed victory on the opening day of the tournament on Sunday.

APF edged past Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) by eight wickets at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. Bhairahawa elected to bat and put up 109/9 in allotted 20 overs. Opener Sagar Pun (32 runs off 30 balls) and Subash Pradhan (20 runs off 22 balls) were the top scorers for Bhairahawa. Man-of-the-match Basant Regmi took four wickets while Sanjam Regmi and Shakti Gauchan claimed two wickets each for APF.

Gopal Singh of Janakpur plays a shot against Nepalgunj during the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament at Pulchowk Ground on Sunday.

APF met the target in 14.1 overs losing two wickets as Gyanendra Malla scored unbeaten half-century. Opener Subash Khakurel also remained not out with 48 runs. Krishna Karki took the two wickets for Bhairahawa.

In the second match of the pool A of the tournament, Biratnagar beat Region No 2 (Birgunj) by five wickets at the TU Ground. Biratnagar restricted Birgunj at 103/9 in 20 overs and met the target in 16.4 overs losing five wickets. Amit Shrestha was the top scorer for Birgunj with 35 runs while Kamal Kishor Premi took three wickets for Biratnagar. Man-of-the-match Manjeet Shrestha (unbeaten 39 runs off 31 balls) and Mehboob Alam (21 runs off 16 balls) were the highest contributors. Jitendra Mukhiya and Naresh Raj Giri claimed two wickets each for Birgunj.

Likewise, Nepalgunj pulled a 23-run victory over Region No 7 (Janakpur) at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur. Janakpur invited Nepalgunj to bat first. Nepalgunj scored 164 runs in 20 overs losing seven wickets. Anupam Singh (39 runs) was the top scorer while Rupesh Sharma (20 runs), Mahesh Chhetri (26 runs) and Amar Singh Routela (22 runs) were the other major contributors for Nepalgunj. Sanjog Karn, Gopal Singh and Raj Mohammad took a wicket each for Janakpur while four Nepalgunj batsmen fell short to the crease.

Chasing the good total, Janakpur could reach only 141/9 in 20 overs. Anil Mandal scored 50 runs off 36 balls but rest of the batsmen could not consolidate the innings. Man-of-the-match Nasir Ansari, who scored 14 runs earlier, took two wickets for Nepalgunj.

Likewise, Baitadi edged past Region No 8 (Pokhara) by six wickets. Pokhara elected to bat and put up 118/8 in 20 overs. Amrit Shrestha (27 runs) was the top scorer for Pokhara. Shiva Raj Swar claimed three wickets while Chandra Sawad and Bhuwan Karki took two wickets each for Baitadi.

Chasing the total, Baitadi reached 120/4 in 16.2 overs. Man-of-the-match Naresh Budhayer scored unbeaten 45 runs off 31 balls including seven boundaries to seal the match. Rahul BK claimed two wickets for Pokhara.

Armed Police Force (APF) Club defended the Pepsi Standard Chartered National One-Day Cricket Tournament title despite a century by Region No 4 Bhairahawa’s Faljur Rahman Khan.

Helped by Faljur’s 125, Bhairahawa posted 221 runs in 50 overs. APF Club needed 34.1 overs to surpass the score with national captain Paras Khadka leading the way to 6-wicket victory.

APF won the toss and invited Bhairahawa to bat first. Apart from Faljur, Bhairahawa’s batsmen could not settle against bowling attack of APF.

Subash Pradhan scored 28 while Sarad Vesawkar was the most successful bowler taking 3 wickets.

Faljur Rahman Khan celebrates hitting century in the final.

In reply, APF Club’s star lineup lived up the expectations as every batsmen chipping in useful runs. Paras topscored with 86 not out with 10 fours and 3 sixes while Subash Khakurel also got his half-century before being out on 60.

Sarad, who hit a six for the victory, got 29 not out in 26 balls. Paresh Lohani (25) and Gyanendra Malla (23) also contributed in the victory.

Sushan Bhari was the most successful of Bhairahawa’s bowler taking a couple of wickets.

Although, Faljur could not won the title for his team, he received a couple of accolades. He was chosen the man of the final and emerging player of the tournament. His team mate Sagar Pun took the man of the series award.

APF Club’s Basant Regmi received the prize of best bowler and Birgunj’s Amit Shrestha was declared the best batsman. For Amit, who has never played for the national team, it was a worthy achievement.

Minister for Finance Barshaman Pun gave away the prizes.

Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) set up a final clash with the Armed Police Force (APF) Club in the Pepsi Standard Chartered National One-Day Cricket Tournament.

The all-round performance of Sagar Pun helped Bhairahawa crush Region No 7 (Janakpur) by eight wickets in the semifinal on Thursday while the stellar performance of Basant Regmi sealed a 120-run victory for APF over Region No 2 (Birgunj).

It is the fifth time Bhairahawa has reached the final of the national One-Day tournament while it is the consecutive second final for APF. Bhairahawa had played its last final in 2064 BS.

Sanjog Karn (R) of Region No 7 Janakpur gets run out during the semifinal against Region No 4 Bhairahawa in the Pepsi Standard Chartered One-Day National Cricket Tournament at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur on Thursday.

APF elected to bat at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur and put up 279/8 in allotted 50 overs as opener Paresh Lohani scored 53 runs off 71 balls, including five boundaries. It was the third half-century by Lohani in the ongoing tournament. Sanjay Shrestha added 49 runs off 49 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes, while skipper Paras Khadka contributed 41 runs off 37 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes. Meanwhile, Sharad Vesawkar chipped in 28 runs and Regmi added unbeaten 27 runs off 28 balls.

Kumar Thapa took three wickets while Naresh Raj Giri and Jitendra Mukhiya claimed two wickets each.

Chasing the good total, Birgunj was bowled out for 159 runs in 44 overs as man-of-the-match Basant Regmi took four wickets. Rabin Gurung (42 runs off 41 balls) was the highest contributor for Birgunj while AmitShrestha, MdHasim Ansari and Aarif Sheikh added 21 runs each. Amrit Bhattarai, Sunam Gautam, Shakti Gauchan, Sanjam Regmi and Sharad Vesawkar claimed a wicket each to seal the easy victory for APF.

At the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur, Janakpur elected to bat but failed against the bowling attack of Bhairahawa. Janakpur was all out for 131 runs in 45.2 overs as Lal Bahadur Adhikari took three wickets and Bibek Chaudhary as well as Sagar Pun claimed two wickets each. Krishna Karki and Sushan Bhari also took a wicket each. Anil Mandal (30 runs off 46 balls) was the top scorer for Janakpur while Chandan Jha contributed 26 runs off 81 balls.

In reply, man-of-the-match Pun and his opening partner Fajlur Rahman Khan scored half-centuries to seal an easy victory for Bhairahawa in 22.5 overs losing only two wickets. Pun scored 52 runs off 48 balls including nine boundaries before AbishekJha claimed his wicket. Pun and Khan put up a 100-run opening partnership. Jha claimed the wicket of Nischal Chaudhary (naught) but Khan remained unbeaten with 52 runs off 69 balls along side Antim Thapa (19 runs off 18 balls). Khan struck seven boundaries while anchoring the Bhairahawa innings.

The final match will be played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur on Friday.

Fixtures published for T20 National

Meanwhile, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has published the fixtures for the Pepsi Standard Chartered T20 National Cricket Tournament to be held in Kathmandu from Sunday.

CAN has slated APF, Region No 1 (Biratnagar), Region No 2 (Birgunj), Region No 3 (Kathmandu) and Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) in the group A of the tournament while Region No 5 (Nepalgunj), Region No 6 (Baitadi), Region No 7 (Janakpur) and Region No 8 (Pokhara) are to vie in the group B. According to the CAN, top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals.

As per the fixture, APF will take on Bhairahawa and Birgunj will lock horns with Biratnagar at the TU Ground on Sunday, the opening day of the tournament. On the same day, Nepalgunj will face Janakpur and Pokhara will take on Baitadi at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground.

The final match of the T20 tournament would be played on December 29.

Suryodaya Higher Secondary School, Jhapa and Apex English Boarding School, Rupandehi have secured semifinal berths in the Third Inter-school WaiWai Girls’ National T20 Cricket Tournament being held in Bhairahawa.

Suryodaya defeated Lahan Public School by 21 runs in a Group A match held on Thursday. As Janajyoti Higher Secondary, Bardiya didn’t take part in the tournament, Thursday’s match was important for Suryodaya to qualify for the semifinals.

Suryodaya elected to bat and scored 88/8 in 20 overs as Kajol Shrestha scored 22 runs. Lahan gave away another 22 runs as extras. Anuradha Chaudhary took four wickets for Lahan while Shanti Chaudhary and Samjhana Gautam claimed two wickets each.

Chasing the total, Lahan was bowled out for 67 runs in 16.1 overs. Player-of-the-match Sangita Rai and Neha Karki took three wickets each for Suryodaya.

In Group B, Apex School received a walkover from Mahendra Higher Secondary School, Dadeldhura on Thursday. Earlier, Apex had defeated Padmodaya Higher Secondary School, Dang.

Although 12 teams were expected to participate in the tournament, only eight teams reached Bhairahawa to take part in the event.

The tournament is organized by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and coordinated by the Regional Cricket Development Committee, Region No 4 (Bhairahawa).

Triton International College set up a final clash against GoldenGate International College in the College Premier League T20 2012, Nepal Qualifier.

Triton defeated Kathmandu City College (KCC) by five wickets on Wednesday at the Army School Ground, Bhaktapur while GoldenGate thrashed Laboratory College by 61 runs in the semifinal.

KCC elected to bat and put up only 140/8 in 20 overs as man-of-the-match Basant Regmi took five wickets for Triton. Rajesh Pulami scored 51 runs off 36 balls including two boundaries and a six. Shibu Budhathoki contributed 29 runs off 24 balls.

In reply, Triton reached the total in 16 overs losing only five wickets. Niraj Basnet and Amit Shrestha contributed 33 runs each while Manjeet Shrestha chipped in 26 runs and Sharad Vesawkar scored unbeaten 23 runs.

In the first semifinal of the qualifier, Laboratory elected to field. GoldenGate put up 218/4 in 20 overs as Paras Khadka scored unbeaten 84 runs off 28 balls. Khadka, the national team captain, struck 14 boundaries and 3 sixes. Rom Shrestha (39 runs), Sanjay Shrestha (37 runs) and Paresh Lohani (31 runs) were the other major contributors. Thupten Lama took two wickets for Laboratory.

Chasing the huge total, Laboratory could reach only 157/7 in 20 overs as Sunam Gautam took four wickets for GoldenGate and Sanjam Regmi claimed two wickets. Sharad Khadka (38 runs) was the highest scorer for Laboratory.

The qualifier is organized by Jain University, Bangalore in association with Indian Education Services, Kathmandu. The winner of the tournament would get a chance to participate in the College Premier League T20 final round to be held in India.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Monday called up 25 women
cricketers for the closed camp training for the upcoming ACC Women´s
Championship.
Among the 25 players, six are new faces while the other 19 were part of
the closed camp training for the ACC Women´s T20 Asia Cup held in China
last October.
Arati Bidari, Anjali Chand, Kabita Gautam, Manisha Rawal, Janaki Bhatta
and Saraswati Chaudhary are the new faces called up for the closed camp.
Rubina Chhetri, Karuna Bhandari, Indu Verma, Nary Thapa, Mamata Kumari
Chaudhary, Sangita Gauchan, Geeta Chudal, Rekha Rawal, Trishna Singh,
Sarita Magar, Silu Rijal, Mamta Thapa, Roshani Bohara, Shova Ale, Neera
Rajopadhyay, Rashmi Chaulagain, Sonu Khadka, Madhu Thapa and Sita Rana
Magar are the other players selected for the training.

Photo: Somesh Verma

The women´s tournament, a part of the Asian Cricket Council calendar, is
scheduled to be held in Thailand from January 21 to 31. The 25-over
tournament is the initial step for the Women´s World T20 qualification.
The winner of the championship will qualify for the Women´s World T20
Qualifiers to be held in Ireland in August 2013.
According to CAN Secretary Uttam Kumar Karmacharya, the closed camp
training will begin in Kathmandu from Tuesday. “National coach Pubudu
Dassanayake will look after the women cricketers in the first phase of
the closed camp and hand over the selected players to a Nepali coach for
the tournament,” Karmacharya said. However, CAN is yet to
appoint a Nepali coach for the tournament.

Former captain of Nepali national team Ganesh Shahi is no more. Shahi passed away on Friday morning at around 5:30 in Vivekananda Hospital in the Indian city Lucknow.

He was suffering from liver infection. He had been residing in the Indian city Bahraich for past few years.

Shahi was the captain of Nepali side when it played in ICC Trophy (now defunct) in 2001 played in Canada, qualifying tournament for Cricket World Cup 2003.

He replaced Raju Khadka as captain after Canada did not give visa to four Nepali cricketers including Khadka.

Shahi debuted for Nepal in first Nepali international cricket participation in 1^st ACC Trophy, in Malaysia, in 1996.

He played his last international match as captain in 2001 edition of ICC Trophy, which was won by The Netherlands.

Shahi played for Banke district, Nepalgunj (Region no. 5) in national championships.