Cricket Nepal (Archive)

Nepal began its ICC World T20 campaign in a fairytale mode with a resounding 80-run win over Hong Kong, in the event that began on Sunday, at the  Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong.

Good batting, followed by brilliant bowling display from the Nepali team avenged the 10-wicket defeat suffered during the World Cup Qualifiers in January in New Zealand.

Put in to bat first, after losing the toss, Nepal posted a competitive target of 150 runs and bowled out Hong Kong for 69 runs with three overs to spare.

Basant Regmi exalted after claiming a wicket against Hong Kong in World T20 match on 16 March, 2014.
Photo courtesy: ICC

Vice captain Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka showed sparks with the bat and later Paras took the key wicket of Hong Kong opener Irfan Ahmed in the very first ball of the innings. Left arm spinner Shakti Gauchan, man-of-the-match, claimed three wickets in his miserly 4-over spell, where he gave away 9 runs. Basanta Regmi pocketed three wickets as well.

‘The openers gave us the solid start and bowlers, especially, Shakti and Basanta, fulfilled their duty perfectly at right time. “This is all due to amazing team effort,” skipper Paras said at the post match conference. “It’s Holi, the festival of colors back home today and its our gift to the nation,” shared Paras.

Unlike in warm-up matches, Nepali openers Subash Khakurel (22) and Sagar Pun (13) came up with a partnership of 36 runs for the first wicket before Sagar was caught by Waqas Barkat. Subash too failed to contribute to the total of 36 handing over the batting responsibility to Gyanendra and Paras. In the power play, Nepal had managed to score 44 runs for the fall of two wickets.

Gyanendra scored the highest 48 runs and Paras contributed 41 runs. The duo shared 80 run stand for the third wicket.

Paras smashed four fours in his knock of 37 balls before he was caught in 16.2 over at the long-on by Nizakat Khan off Najeeb Amar. Gyanendra cracked a six and four fours in his knock of 41- balls before being caught and bowled by Haseeb Amjad.

Soon after Paras scored his 14 runs in the match, he also became the first player from Nepal to reach 500 runs in T20 (recognized by ICC).

Sharad Vesawkar contributed 14 runs. Nepal that lost four wickets in the last over with three batsmen being out for duck. Haseeb Amjad claimed three wickets for Hong Kong followed by two wickets of Nadeem Ahmed.

Hong Kong received an early blow in its run chase, when its reliable opener Irfan Ahmed was caught behind by Subash Khakurel off Paras in the very first ball. Hong  Kong woes increased in the last ball of second over when its skipper Jamie Atkinson was bowled.

Basanta and Shakti dashed Hong Kong’s hope further after they claimed two wickets apiece in the 11th and 12th over respectively. Basanta  conceded 14 runs in his four overs.

Shakti Gauchan celebrates his wicket during Nepal Vs Hong Kong match at World T20 on Sunday, 16 March, 2014.
Photo courtesy: ICC

Hong Kong’s opener Waqas Barkat (18), Babar Hayat (20) and Mark Chapman (13) were the only batsmen to reach double digits. Four Hong Kong batsmen were out for without scoring. Haseeb Amjad remained unbeaten on four runs.

Hong Kong’s captain Jamie Atkinson opined that batting failure cost his side dearly. “Batting failure cost us and it was best game for us and Nepal as well. Nepal is good side and proved good today.”

I arrived this morning at Chittagong, the Port City of Bangladesh to watch and Cover ICC World T20. Nepal qualified for the highest level of competitive cricket after defeating Hong Kong in the World T20 Qualifiers played in November, 2013. The win itself was miraculous, as Nepal beat Hong Kong in a thrilling match that went up to the last ball.

Chittagong, which is around 250 kilometers east from capital city Dhaka, is comparatively calm, less crowded than the Bangladeshi capital. After escaping from infamous traffic jam of Dhaka, my focus turned to cricket. Nepal has to play against Hong Kong in the opening group match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. Stage is all set for the both the teams for a do or die match. Other two teams in the group – Bangladesh, host and test playing nation – and Afghanistan which is emerging as a cricket power house among non test-playing nations are being touted as one of the favorite team to go to the next round. But in T20 cricket anything can happen.

Team Nepal practicing at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium in Chittagong on the eve of its match against Hong Kong in ICC World Twenty20 2014.
Photo: Bhaskar Gyawali

I arrived at 1 pm ZACS ( Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium) to collect my accreditation card and attend press meet of both the captains. But due to heavy traffic and confusion between football and cricket stadium, and of course our lack of knowledge of local language, we – me and other sports journalists from Nepal – missed the media briefing. But after persuading ICC media manager Bridget, she allowed us to ask few questions to Nepal skipper Paras Khadka.

Paras seemed calm as ever and not affected by the poor performance in the practice matches. It’s perfectly logical for a skipper to show confidence before high octane match in the mega event. Couldn’t ask what Hong Kong skipper had to say, but I expected it on obvious lines, like – we are playing great cricket, we have defeated Zimbabwe and The Netherlands in practice matches, our boys are playing great cricket and they are in good form, blah..blah…blah.

Nepal has previously defeated Hong Kong time and again but statistics don’t play in the field, you have play better than your opponent to win match.  T20 is a format where 3-4 overs can change the outcome of the game.

Poor performance by opening pair and inability to play good fast bowling has been Nepal’s headache for long. This will still be a big question mark here again, and this can oust Nepal from the tournament very early. Another thing that goes against Nepal is that it has not a single charismatic player (batsman, bowler or all-rounder) who can single handedly win the match for his team. Hong Kong has Irfan Ahmed, an explosive opener and a good bowler. This can be the difference between Nepal and Hong Kong. Nepal needs to have strategy to contain Irfan Ahmed, the batsman, and strengthen its batting performance against Irfan Ahmed, the bowler. Both these associate nations are playing big league cricket for the first time, so it would be interesting to see who stays calm enough and plays to potential.

Coach of Nepali cricket team Pubudu Dassanayake has said time and again that T20 is anybody’s game, so don’t write us off, we can stage upset and go to second round. I want to believe Dassanayake’s confidence will be proven right. Hopefully, along with me, other Nepali fans would be rooting the same line.

Nepal suffered another defeat in its second and final warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Stadium, in Fatullah, Dhaka. UAE defeated Nepal by 6 wickets, chasing a target of 96.

Defending a smallish target, Nepali bowlers began well, as Amjad Ali was trapped leg before in the very first over off Paras Khadka. UAE lost its second wicket with score at 14 runs and third at 34. But for UAE, the overhaul of the target was always going to be one good partnership away. And that partnership came in when Swapnil Patil (40) came in after the fall of Khurram Khan (15). He forged a 48-run partnership for the 4^th wicket in 8.4 overs with Shaiman Anwar (30*) and took UAE to safety.

For Nepal, Paras Khadka, Sompal Kami, Shakti Gauchan and Basanta Regmi took one wicket each.

Nepal captain Paras Khadka talks to the press after match against UAE, on 14 March 2014.
Photo: Binod Pandey

Earlier, Nepali batting failed yet again as it posted a modest target of 96 runs, against the UAE bowling attack.

Nepali team lost wickets at regular intervals after put in to bat first. Opener Subash Khakurel (28), skipper Paras Khadka (27) and Basanta Regmi (10) were the only batsmen to reach double digit scores for Nepal.
Sharif Asadullah claimed three wickets, the highest for his team, giving away 15 runs in his 4 overs. He followed by Kamran Shazad, who took two wickets.

Nepal is scheduled kick starts its World T20 campaign playing against Hong Kong on Sunday. This is the first time Nepal is playing in a tournament at this level.

Nepal is pitted with Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in group A of the qualifiers while group B consists of Ireland, Zimbabwe, UAE and the Netherlands. Top two teams from either group after the round robin league will make to next round of the event.

Nepal began its Bangladesh campaign with a  five-wicket defeat at the hands of topmost associate team Ireland in its first official warm up match of the ICC World T20 at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium in Fatullah, Dhaka on Wednesday.

Nepal conceded 18 runs in the 18th over, as Ireland batsman Gary Wilson hit two sixes off spinner Shakti Gauchan to give Irish team the victory.  Before that, Nepal remained competitive, despite scoring 137 in its innings.

“I am satisfied with the result and the team’s overall performance,” Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake said. “We gave away many runs in the last two overs.”

Put to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal posted 137 runs for seven. Ireland achieved the target losing five wickets with five balls to spare.

Gyanendra Malla contributed 47 off 35 in Nepal’s inning. Skipper Paras Khadka contributed 31 off 27, the second highest score.

Gyanendra and Paras gave some momentum to Nepali innings after dismissal of openers Subash Khakurel (10) and Sagar Pun (6) in quick succession with score at 16. The duo shared 55-run stand for the third wicket before the skipper was out in 11.5 overs.  He hit three boundaries and a six before being caught by George Dockrell off his own bowling.

Gyanendra also hit three boundaries and a six and was bowled in the first ball of 18th over. He was caught and bowled by Kevin O’Brien. Besides them, Naresh Budayair (14) and Subash (10) reached double digit. Avinash Karn (4), Shakti Gauchan (5) remained unbeaten while Binod Bhandari scored 5 and Sharad Vesawkar scored 9.

Kevin O’Brien, Andrew McBrine and Gary Wilson shared two wickets each for Ireland and Craig Young got one.

In the Ireland’s run chase, skipper William Porterfield scored the highest 38 off 35 that included three boundaries. William shared 30-run stand with the other opener Paul numberswiki.com

Stirling (19). Jeetendra Mukhiya gave the breakthrough to Nepal claiming two successive wickets of Stirling and Ed Joyce (0).

Nepal cricketer Jitendra Mukhiya (L) celebrates after the dismissal of Ireland cricketer Paul Stirling during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup warm up cricket match between Ireland and the Nepal at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, on the outskirts of Dhaka on March 12, 2014.
Photo courtesy: ICC

Middle order Andrew Poynter (28), Gary Wilson (31) and Stuart Thompson (19*) were the other batsmen for Ireland to guide the team towards victory.

This was the first encounter between the two teams. Nepal is scheduled to play against UAE during their second practice match at the same venue on Friday before it kick starts its World T20 campaign playing against Hong Kong on Sunday. This is the first time Nepal is playing in a tournament at this level.

Nepal is pitted with Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in group A of the qualifiers while group B consists of Ireland, Zimbabwe, UAE and the Netherlands. Top two teams from either group after the round robin league will make to next round of the event.

Earlier Nepal played warm up matches against the Netherlands and UAE in UAE to prepare for the event. Nepal suffered 44-run defeat at the hands Dutch team and beat UAE by 31-runs.

Meanwhile, team Nepal is planning to bring Anil Mandal in place of injured Avinash Karn for the tournament.

Cricket Association of Nepal has finalized a 30-member preliminary squad, including veteran off-spinner Sanjam Regmi, another spinner Rahul BK, fast bowlers Amrit Bhattarai and Chandra Saud, for the upcoming ICC World T20.

The biggest tournament of T20 format will begin in Bangladesh on March 16. Nepal qualified for the mega event after finishing third in the ICC World T20 qualifiers held in the UAE in November.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had set the deadline of January 16 for the registration of the preliminary squad. Cricket Nepal learnt that it had sent the list to the world cricket governing body ahead of the deadline.

The players were selected on the recommendation of coach Pubudu Dassanayake while he was in New Zealand for the ODI World Cup Qualifiers, where Nepal faltered and finished ninth in the tournament, after 5 losses and a consolation win.

Despite their poor performance in New Zealand, all of the 15 players have retained their place in the preliminary squad.

Captain Paras Khadka, vice captain Gyanendra Malla, Subash Khakurel, Anil Mandal, Pradeep Airee, Sharad Vesawkar, Prithu Baskota, Binod Bhandari, Sagar Pun, Basanta Regmi, Shakti Gauchan, Jitendra Mukhiya, Sompal Kami, Avinash Karn and Mahesh Chhetri are the 15 players in the current more info

national team. Subash did not play any match in New Zealand because of illness.

Other players who were named in the preliminary squad are Ram Naresh Giri, Naresh Budhaair, Bhuvan Karki, Rajesh Pulami, Yagyaman Kumal, Aarif Sheikh, Sushil Kandel, Amrit Shrestha, Rajkumar Pradhan, Nizamuddin Ansari and Manjit Shrestha.

Despite playing in the T20 Qualifiers in the UAE, Amrit and Rahul were kept as reserve players in the ODI Qualifiers in New Zealand. Sanjam has been listed in the preliminary squad for the first time since winning the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Bermuda back in May 2013. He was out of action for quite some time due to eye aliment. Chandra was not included in the T20 squad in the UAE.

Nepal’s veteran cricketer and former captain Binod Das was left out again. His hope of making it to the national team seems unlikely because he hasn’t even been named in the preliminary squad.

CAN has to send the list of the final squad exactly a month ahead of the World T20 on February 16. Nepal will open its campaign against Hong Kong on March 16. It will then take on host Bangladesh on March 18 and Afghanistan on March 20.

Nepal wrapped up its ICC World Cup Qualifiers campaign with a consolation win on Tuesday thumping Uganda by 160 runs in the ninth place playoff played at the Bay Oval 2 in New Zealand.

Nepal elected to bat first and scored 240 runs losing all the wickets with two balls to spare and bowled out Uganda for 80 runs in 36.3 overs. The first victory in the last match of the Qualifiers campaign put a brake on Nepal’s five match losing streak in the tournament.

Earlier, Nepal had lost all four matches of the group stage against UAE, Scotland, Hong Kong and Canada and finished at the rock bottom of five team group. Similarly, Nepal had gone down by seven wickets against the Netherlands in the seventh place playoff match on Sunday.

Middle order batsmen Prtihu Baskota (59) and Sharad Vesawkar (41) were the highest run contributors for Nepal.

On Tuesday as well, Nepali failed to get bright start as it lost openers Mahesh Chhetri (19) and Pradeep Airee (23) and third batsmen Gyanedra Malla (8) with 70 runs on board. Captain Paras Khadka gave some resistance scoring 30 off 56 that included two fours.

Binod Bhandari fired 35 off 21.

Charles Waiswa claimed three wickets of Nepal while Faruk Ochimi and Davis Karashani picked two wickets apiece.

In the Uganda´s run chase, all rounder Sagar Pun claimed three wickets as only three batsmen managed to step on double digit figure.

Sompal Kami and Shakti Guachan pocketed two wickets each.

Nepal´s disastrous run at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers has continued. Team Nepal faced its fifth successive defeat on Sunday, going down against The Netherlands by seven wickets in the in the seventh place playoff match held at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui in New Zealand.

Nepal was put in to bat first, and it posted a meager 171 for 9. The Dutch team chased down the target with more than 18 overs and 7 wickets to spare.

Nepal lost its first wicket very cheaply, as has been the norm in the tournament, today as well, with the score at 16 in the 7^th over. That began a spate of wicket falls, and half the side was back in the pavilion by the time score was 54 (in the 20^th over).  Of the 5 wickets to fall, Gyanendra Malla and Prithu Baskota failed to open scoring. Of the top 5 batsmen, Paras Khadka, with 29 off 38, was the only one to reach double figures.

Nepal captain Paras Khadka walks back to the pavilion after scoring 29. Netherlands defeated Nepal by 7 wickets. Photo: Devendra Subedi

Sharad Vesawkar, with 42 off 90 deliveries, remained the highest scorer for Nepal. Shakti Gauchan provided some late order resistance, coming in at 9 and scoring 26. The best thing for Nepal was that the team lasted all 50 overs. There were 16 fours and a six (from Paras Khadka) from Nepali batsmen, which highlights the percentage of dot balls faced by them and the domination from Dutch bowlers.

19-year old Vivian Kingma was at miserly best for the Dutch, giving away 18 runs in his 10-over spell and nailing down Gyanendra and Paras. Ahsan Malik took three wickets in 4 overs.

The 172 run target was never going to be challenging for the Netherlands, and it proved not to be so. Apart from losing Stephan Myburgh early on, there were no surprises for the Dutch team. The other opener, Eric Szwarczynski, scored 56 and ensured there were no hiccups for his team. Nepali team’s misery ended in the 32^nd over as the Netherlands overhauled the target.

After the match, Nepali captain Paras Khadka summed up his team’s disappointment. “We haven’t played well at all and even today we were outplayed. We are not putting the effort that we are known to put at difficult times,” said Paras, adding, “Everybody is trying but performance is not coming for us. In other words we are playing much below our standards.”

Talking about the last match left for Nepal, against Uganda, coach Pubudu Dassanayake said, “We are desperately looking for a win. We obviously want to finish on a high.”

This is the first time Nepal lost five matches in a row in a tournament. Earlier, Nepal was defeated by the UAE, Scotland, Hong Kong and Canada in the group stage of World Cup Qualifiers.

This was also Nepal´s sixth straight defeat in the 50-over format, if the loss to Afghanistan in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup was also taken into account.

With inputs from Devendra Subedi, who’s in New Zealand.

Region No 7 (Janakpur) recovered from a slow start to record its first victory in the Women’s National Cricket Tournament after middle-order batswomen Kabita Gautam and Saraswati Chaudhary both scored half-centuries to defeat Region No 8 (Pokhara) by 147 runs victory at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Sunday.

Region No 1 (Biratnagar) also opened its account defeating Region No 6 (Baitadi) by six wickets in another Group A encounter at the Army ground in Bhaktapur.

Meanwhile, Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) beat Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) by 74 runs in a Group B meeting at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground for its second win in three matches.

The win took Janakpur to third in the Group A standings, level on two points with second-place Baitadi and two points behind leader Armed Police Force, who has won both its matches. Fourth-place Biratnagar also has two points from two matches while Pokhara lies at the bottom without a point.

With two wins from three matches, Bhairahawa climbed into second position in Group B on four points, level with leader Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) and two points ahead of third-place Region No 3 (Kathmandu). Both Nepalgunj and Kathmandu have played a match less than Bhairahawa. Fourth and fifth placed Birgunj and Kanchanpur, which has played only one match, remain pointless.

Opting to bat first Janakpur made a poor start and was at one stage 23/3, with 14 runs coming from extras. But skipper Gautam and Chaudhary, batting at number four and five, rescued the team with a 127-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Chaudhary struck five fours during her knock of 55 runs off 67 balls before being caught and bowled by Karina Gurung. Gautam fell to Prabha Nepali soon after, having made 58 runs off 83 balls with four boundaries.

Mamata Chaudhary, caught and bowled by Sadiksha Pandey, contributed 28 runs to take Janakpur’s total to 194 runs, which included 39 runs from extras. Rest of the batswomen failed to reach double figures.

Gurung and Pandey claimed two wickets each for Pokhara while Arya Aryal bagged one wicket.

Chasing a modest target, Pokhara surrendered meekly as Arya Aryal (16 runs off 39 balls) was the only batswoman to reach double figures. Santoshi Chaudhary and Shanti Chaudhary claimed three wickets each to skittle the opponents for 47 runs in 25.5 overs. Saraswati Chaudhary, Anuradha Chaudhary and Kabita Gurung took a wicket each.

Meanwhile, openers Barsha Rana and Prabina Khadka scored 32 and 67 runs respectively as Bhairahawa reached 197 runs after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Skipper Indu Berma contributed 24 runs. Bhairahawa’s total included 67 runs from extras.

In reply, Kanchanpur was all out for 123 runs in 26.5 overs with Roshani Bohara (36) and Bimala Bhatta (17) the only two batswomen to make notable contributions with the bat.

In another match, Baitadi opted to bat first and was all out for 86 runs in 28 overs. In reply, Biratnagar achieved the small target losing four wickets in 31.2 overs.

Two centuries were witnessed in a single match of the Women’s National Cricket Tournament on Saturday, a day after Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) captain Nary Thapa scored the first century in the history of Nepali women’s cricket.

Rekha Rawal and Anjali Chand of Region No 6 (Baitadi) scored unbeaten centuries against Region No 8 (Pokhara) at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Lalitpur.

Rawal smashed unbeaten 131 runs off 98 balls including 19 boundaries. Rawal reached the magical three digits figure in 74 balls.

Meanwhile, Chand clobbered unbeaten 111 runs off 95 balls including 15 boundaries. Chand reached the 100-mark off 90 balls.

As Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) used to conduct women’s cricket matches of only 25 overs in the past, centuries were rare feat. As soon as CAN started the 40-over matches, woman cricketers got opportunity to reach the landmark figures.

Riding on the two centuries, Baitadi, which elected to bat, put up massive 362/1 in allotted 40 overs. Dropati Kunwar scored 31 runs off 58 balls before Prabha Nepali dismissed her.

In reply, Pokhara was all out for 133 run in 31.2 overs. Arati Bidari scored 51 runs off 66 balls and Arya Aryal added 24 runs off 41 balls but their effort went in vain.

Player-of-the-match Rawal was in role again when she came to bowl. Rawal took four wickets. Janaki Bhatta claimed three wickets.

On the other hand, the match between Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Region No 7 (Janakpur) as well as Region No 3 (Kathmandu) and Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) remained low-scoring affairs on Saturday. APF registered consecutive second victory in the tournament as it defeated Region No 7 (Janakpur) by two wickets at the Army Cricket Ground, Bhaktapur. Meanwhile, Kathmandu beat Bhairahawa by three wickets at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.

Janakpur elected to bat but was all out for only 59 runs in 18.2 overs. APF bowlers gave away 26 runs as extras. Otherwise, Saraswoti Chaudhary (unbeaten 14 runs off 19 balls) was the only batter to reach double-digit score.

Player-of-the-match Sita Rana Magar claimed four wickets for APF while Binu Budhamagar took two wickets. Sonu Khadka, Rubina Chhetri and Karuna Bhandari dismissed a batter each.

Despite chasing the low total, APF suffered jolts and won the match with only two wickets. APF reached at 60/8 in 19 overs. Jyoti Pandey scored 17 runs off 27 balls for APF. Saraswoti Chaudhary claimed three wickets while Anuradha Chaudhary took two.

At the TU Ground, Kathmandu elected to field first and bundled out Bhairahawa at 66 runs in 25.4 overs as player-of-the-match Kamala Rai claimed four wickets and Sangeeta Gauchan took three wickets. Shanti Khatiwada dismissed two batters while Ashmita Kharel took a wicket.

Kathmandu bowlers gave away 30 runs as extras. Otherwise, Prabina Khadka (16 runs off 28 balls) was the only Bhairahawa batter to produce double-digit score.

In reply, Kathmandu reach 67/7 in 14.1 overs as Ashmin Karmacharya remained unbeaten with 17 runs off 17 balls. Bhairahawa gave away 20 runs as extras. Indu Berma claimed three wickets for Bhairahawa while Soniya Paudel took two.

Scoring a century in a cricket match is itself a milestone for the batter. As women’s cricket started in Nepal only in 2005, century was a distant dream for Nepali woman cricketers till Friday.

However, Nary Thapa, who is one of the first generation woman-cricketers in the country, achieved the milestone on Friday with style.

Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) captain Thapa scored an unbeaten century against Region No 3 (Kathmandu) on Friday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur in the ongoing Women’s National Cricket Tournament.

Thapa garnered 121 runs off 128 balls for the maiden century of Nepali women’s cricket. She struck 21 boundaries in the process.

Thapa, who reached half-century mark off 52 balls, reached the magical three-digit figure off 109 balls.

Thapa is the first Nepali woman cricketer to score first international half-century. She had scored 66 runs against the UAE in the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship 2010 in Singapore. She had struck a six against Hong Kong in the same tournament to become the first Nepali woman cricketer to strike six.

Riding on the century scored by player-of-the-match Thapa, Nepalgunj sealed a huge 115-run victory over Kathmandu in the match.

Nepalgunj put up 205/2 in allotted 40 overs. Trishna Singh scored unbeaten 33 runs off 61 balls for Nepalgunj.

On the other hand, Nepalgunj bowler Samana Pun achieved another milestone. She took five wickets to bundle out Kathmandu at 90 runs in 29.4 overs. Samjhana Sharma claimed two wickets while Trishna Singh, Anu KC and RekhaBC dismissed a batter each.

Sandhya KC (34 runs off 56 balls) and Rubina Bisunkhe (12 runs off 16 balls) were the top scorers for Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) beat Region No 2 (Birgunj) by 42 runs on Friday at the Army Cricket Ground, Bhaktapur.

Bhairahawa elected to bat and was all out for 135 runs in 31.2 overs. Saraswoti Pun was the top scorer for Bhairahawa with 45 runs off 63 balls while Nitu Bhandari garnered 14 runs off 20 balls. Birgunj gave away 37 runs as extras. Pushpa Aryal, Subhadra Adhikari and Sita Shrestha claimed two wickets each.

Chasing the modest total, Birgunj was all out for 93 runs in 21.3 overs as player-of-the-match Barsa Rana took four wickets for Bhairahawa. Indu Berma claimed three wickets while Shaiya Gurung took two wickets. Alish KC claimed a wicket. Sita Shrestha (26 runs) and Rachana Aryal (12 runs) were the major contributors for Birgunj.

Region No 2 (Birgunj) edged past Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by seven wickets on Friday to win the title of School Level National T20 Cricket Tournament in Jaleshwar, Mahottari. 

Birgunj elected to field first and bundled out Biratnagar for only 89 runs in 19.1 overs. Love Kamat top scored for Biratnagar with 27 runs while Arman Ansari and Samsad Ansari claimed three wickets each for Birgunj.

Birgunj successfully chased the small total in 18 overs losing only three wickets. Aasif Shekh clobbered unbeaten 50 runs of 45 balls to make the victory look easier. Niraj Mukhiya claimed two wickets for Biratnagar.

The winning team Birgunj received Rs 25,000 while Biratnagar bagged Rs 15,000.

Shekh was declared player-of-the-final. Kundan Singh of Region No 7 (Janakpur) was adjudged the best batsman of the tournament while Niraj Pokharel of Region No 9 (Kanchanpur) received award for the best bowler. Samsad Ansari was adjudged man-of-the-series.

Golden Gate International College clinched the title of Inter College FSU Council Cup National Cricket Tournament.

Golden Gate thrashed Prithvi Narayan (PN) Campus by nine wickets in the final played at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground on Friday.

PN elected to bat and put up 106 runs in allotted 20 overs losing five wickets. Anil Gurung scored 52 runs off 58 balls for PN. Ajendra Chantyal garnered 19 runs off 30 balls while rest of the other batsmen failed to reach double-digit scores.

Players of Golden Gate College pose with winner’s trophy. (Photo Courtesy: NSC)

In reply, Golden Gate reached 109/1 in just 9.3 overs. Captain Paresh Lohani clobbered unbeaten 43 runs off 28 balls while Naresh Budhayer hit 38 runs off 22 balls. Sanjay Shrestha contributed 11 runs off seven balls for Golden Gate.

Winner Golden Gate received Rs 60,000 while runner-up PN bagged Rs 40,000.

Mehboob Alam of CCRC was adjudged man-of-the-series in the tournament played under knockout system. Altogether 20 teams had participated in the tournament.

Nepal APF Club and Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) started the Women’s National Cricket Tournament on the winning notes as it began on Thursday.

APF thrashed Region No 1 (Biratnagar) by 110 runs at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur while Nepalgunj edged past Region No 2 (Birgunj) by seven wickets at the Army Cricket Ground, Bhaktapur.

As Biratnagar elected to field first, APF put up 185/6 in allotted 40 overs. Later, Biratngar was all out for 75 runs in 28.4 overs.

Opener Sita Rana Magar scored 63 runs off 64 balls for the departmental teams. Player-of-the-match Rana Magar struck nine boundaries. Sarita Rana Magar remained unbeaten with 40 runs off 62 balls while Jyoti Pandey added 25 runs off 40 balls. Sangita Rai, Sabnam Rai, Neha Karki and Sanjana Budhathoki claimed a wicket each for Biratnagar.

Chasing the total, six batters of Biratnagar got out without scoring a run. Sonu Khadka and Karuna Bhandari claimed three wickets each for APF while Rubina Chhetri and Sarita Magar took two wickets each to bundle out Biratnagar. Rashmi Sharma (32 runs off 66 balls) and Sabina Shrestha (22 runs off 53 balls) were the only batters with double-digit scores.

At Army Ground, Bhaktapur, Birgunj elected to bat and put up only 97 runs losing all its wickets in 28.4 overs. Samana Pun dismissed three Birgunj batters while Nary Thapa, Trishna Singh and Samjhana Sharma took two wickets each. Anu KC claimed a wicket to rattle Birgunj. Rachana Aryal and Rojina Aryal became the top scorers for Birgunj with 14 runs each.

Nepalgunj chased the total successfully in 14 overs losing only three wickets as captain Nary Thapa blasted 52 runs off 46 balls. She clobbered 10 boundaries to seal the easy victory. She was adjudged player-of-the-match.

Nepalgunj will take on Region No 3 (Kathmandu) at the TU Ground on Friday while Birgunj will clash with Region No 4 (Bhairahawa) at the Army Ground.

National Sports Council (NSC) has started construction of indoor cricket training hall at the TU Cricket Ground Kirtipur.

Youth and Sports Minister Ram Kumar Shrestha laid foundation stone at the construction site on Thursday. According to NSC, the hall would be 140 ft long and 40 ft wide. The estimated cost of the construction is Rs 7.4 millions.

Minister Ram Kumar Shrestha lays foundation stone for the indoor training hall at the TU Cricket Ground on Jan 2, 2014. (Photo Courtesy: NSC)

NSC has signed a contract with R&C Builders, Jorpati for the construction works. NSC has asked R&C to complete the construction works within 40 days.

NSC has started the construction process as a task force formed after Nepal’s qualification to the ICC World T20 suggested it to provide indoor facilities to the national team as early as possible.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has increased the prize money for winner and runner-up in the Women’s National Cricket Tournament.

Issuing a press release on Thursday, CAN has informed that the winner of the tournament would get Rs 45,000 instead of earlier announced Rs 25,000. As per the new announcement, the runner-up team will bag Rs 30,000, the double of the earlier announced amount.

The Women’s National Cricket Tournament kicked off in Kathmandu on Thursday.