KATHMANDU, May 26: Rupandehi XI and the departmental team Tribhuvan Army Club has advanced into the final of the ongoing Karnali Premier League T20 Cricket Tournament on Friday.
In the semifinal matches played at the Surkhet Stadium, Rupandehi beat Mid-western Region by 26 runs, while Army registered an eight-wicket win over Dhangadhi Cricket Academy to make it to the final.
In the first semifinal, Mid-western, who won the toss and opted to field, was presented a target of 173 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs by Rupandehi.
In reply, Mid-western was all out for 146 runs.
Rupandehi’s Sandeep Sunar bested 50 runs off 30 deliveries which included two sixes and seven boundaries, while Bashir Ahmed scored 46 runs off 14 balls including five sixes and a four.
Tribhuvan Army Club lifts Karnali Premier League
Likewise, Shankar Rana added 35 runs off 39 deliveries with five fours, while Nischal Chaudhary contributed 22 runs off 18 deliveries comprising of four fours.
Amar Singh Rautela was the pick of the Mid-western bowlers as he pocketed three wickets giving away 32 runs in the four overs he bowled.
Likewise, Abinash Bohara took two wickets, while Sunil Sunar and Basnet Regmi claimed a wicket each.
Mid-western had a struggling start as the opener Pranit Thapa made 20 runs off 14 balls before he was caught out by Ahmed. Thapa hit two fours and a six.
The other opener Shubhendu Pandey scored the most runs for the losing side as he scored 46 runs off 39 deliveries with seven fours and a six, while Siddhant Raj Shahi added 19 off 14.
Bikash Shrestha and Sunar picked the most, three each, wickets for the winning team.
They both gave away 21 runs each, but Sunar bowled three overs and Shrestha bowled four.
Bikram Bhushal chipped in with two wickets, while Krishna Karki and Shakti Gauchan shared a wicket each.
In the other last-four match, Dhangadhi won the toss, chose to bat and gave a target of 131 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Army chased the target scoring 132 runs for the loss of two wickets in 16.5 overs.
Bhuwan Karki scored the highest 44 runs off 32 balls including three sixes and four fours, while Sanju Damai and Dipendra Thapa hit 23 and 21 runs respectively. The opener Roman Bam added 16 runs.
Sagar Pun and Chandra Sawad pocketed two wickets each. Pun bowled two overs and gave away 15 runs, while Sawad bowled four overs and gave away 28. Likewise, Jitendra Mukhiya, Susan Bhari and Hari Krishna Jha took a wicket each.
Only four bowlers batted in the chase for Army as Naresh Budhayer scored the highest of the match with not out 63 runs off 38 balls including six fours and four sixes, while Raju Rijal hit unbeaten 28 off 29 with a four and six each.
Also, the two openers Pun and Anil Mandal added 14 and 13 runs respectively. Bhuwan Karki and Narayan Joshi claimed a wicket each for the losing team. The final match will be played on Saturday.
