By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Koshi Province remains in the race for the final of the Lalitpur Mayor Women’s Championship after comfortably defeating Sudurpaschim Province by nine wickets with 27 balls to spare at TU Cricket Ground on Monday.
Invited to bat first, Sudurpaschim were bowled out in 18.5 overs with 82 runs on the scoreboard. Sudurpaschim, who had been in a good position until the 16th over, collapsed afterward and were all out for just 82 in 18.5 overs, losing seven wickets for just two runs in the final 17 balls.
At 16.2 overs, Sudurpaschim had a score of 79-3, but their fortunes changed when Koshi’s Skipper Rubina Chhetry stumped Ritu Kanaujia for 13 runs in the second ball of the 17th over. This was followed by Kabita Joshi’s dismissal for zero in the next ball and Laxmi Saud’s caught-out in the subsequent ball, resulting in a score of 80-6.
The fourth ball of the 18th over saw Ashoda Bista being run out by Jyoti Danwar. Bindu Rawal was bowled out for 30 runs by Apsari Begum in the first ball of the 19th over. Manisha Choudhary and Revati Dhami also fell to stumping in the third and fifth ball of the same over, respectively.
Sudurpaschim’s captain, Bindu Rawal, scored the highest with 30 runs, striking 3 fours in 45 deliveries. Apart from Bindu, only Samjhana Khadka (16) and Ritu Kanoujiya (13) managed to score in double figures for the losing side. Kabita Joshi, Laxmi Saud, Ishori Bist, Rewati Dhami, and Manisha Chaudhary were all dismissed for a score of 0. The openers, Kabita Kunwar and Rubi Poddar contributed 9 and 4 runs respectively.
Koshi’s skipper, Rubina Chhetry and Apsari Begam were instrumental in their team’s victory, taking three wickets each while Jyoti Danwar took one wicket.
Later, Koshi Province chased down the target of 83 runs with ease, losing only one wicket in the process. Rubina scored 28 runs before being dismissed, while Kajal Shrestha remained not out on 40 runs. Rubina shared a 73 runs partnership with Kajal for the fall of the first wicket.
Moreover, Apsari Begam remained unbeaten for 4. Kabita Joshi took the lone wicket for Sudurpaschim.
Koshi Province now needs to defeat Madhesh Province on Tuesday to advance to the final, otherwise, Sudurpaschim Province will secure their place in the final. The final of the championship will take place on Thursday. Nepal APF Club has already qualified for the finals of the championship with one game in hand, having won the title twice before.
