By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) club left Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) behind by 4 wickets to set the seal on the title of 5th edition of Prime Minister Cup One Day National Cricket Tournament.
A dispute before the toss heated the final match which then resulted in the game getting delayed for 2 hours at TU Cricket Ground. A dispute arose after TAC tried to field medium pacer Sompal Kami who didn’t feature in any other outing of the tournament earlier due to Dengue. APF Skipper Sharad Vesawkar refused to take the toss after Army included Sompal in the Playing XI list.
Sharad took the toss at 10:30 AM after the match official addressed the issue. He won and decided to field first. The match scheduled to start at 9 AM began at 11 and the overs were deducted to 40. It cost Army all their wickets to collect 179 runs within 39 overs.
Tribhuvan Army Club’s inning
Sompal Kami and Arjun Saud of the Army started with the bat. The matter of dispute Sompal left the crease following a duck out in 1.5 overs. Newly appointed Captain of the National Cricket Team Rohit Paudel contributed the highest runs of 49 with 3 fours off 56 deliveries for the losing side.
Opener Arjun Saud’s inconsistent performance lead him back to the pavilion with 13 runs off 33 deliveries. Hari Chauhan (49), Bhim Sharki (6), Binod Bhandari (11), Rajesh Pulami (18), Kushal Malla (16), and Bikram Sob returned to the dugout with 0 runs.
Sushan Bhari and Jitendra Mukhiya made a partnership of 47 runs for the final wicket. Sushan got run out for 19 runs off 25 balls and Jitendra played an inning of 24 not out off 25 balls with 3 fours. APF’s bowlers Amar Rautela and Mousom Dhakal claimed 3 wickets each in their name whereas Kishore Mahato booked two in his name.
Armed Police Force’s inning
APF scored 180/6 to chase the winning target in 38.3 overs. Opener duo Aarif Sheikh and Pradip Singh Airee were expected to play big innings but they failed to meet the expectations and returned to the pavilion with 14 and 20 runs respectively. However, a half-century inning from Bhuwan Karki helped APF lift the title of the PM Cup.
The Player of the Match Bhuvan Karki scored 55 runs off 82 deliveries with 4 fours and 1 six before getting run out at 38.2 overs. Skipper Sharad Vesawkar then stepped in and collected 16 runs with four and a six off 25 deliveries to snatch the match from TAC.
Lokesh Bam (8), Sundeep Jora (17), Amar Routela (0), and Sumit Maharjan scored 34 runs for the winning side. TAC’s bowlers Sompal Kami, Bikram Sob, and Sushan Bhari took one wicket each whereas Jitendra Mukhiya took 2.
APF won the PM cup for the first time after 2018. In the second edition of the tournament, APF beat TAC by 7 wickets to claim their first title. With the win, APF pursed NRs. 1 Million whereas runners-up TAC received NRs. 5 Lakhs.
While Dipendra Singh Airee was named Player of the series, Karan KC was awarded with Best Bowler and Mousam Dhakal was adjudged Emerging player. Dipendra was also awarded Best Batsman of the tournament.
