Winning the toss and opting to bat first, APF amassed 217 runs losing all wickets in 47.4 overs in Group B match at the Tribhuvan University Ground in Kirtipur.
Although APF started its inning steadily, it had lost four wickets when there was only 70-run on the board till 20.2 overs. However, Dipendra, who scored 52 runs off 89 ball, shared 67 runs partnership for the fifth wicket with Arif Sheikh (22 runs off 44 balls). Dipendra hit five boundaries, while Arif smashed two fours.
Later, Sanjay Shrestha (24 runs off 23 balls) and skipper Gyanendra Malla (23 runs off 19 balls) shared a 42-run stand for the seventh wicket. Sanjay cracked a six and two fours, while Gyanendra smashed three boundaries.
Subash Khakurel (25 runs off 43 balls), Bhuwan Karki (20 runs off 13 balls) and Paresh Lohani (11 runs off 28 balls) were other major batsmen in the score sheet.
APF off to winning start in PM Cup
Ritesh Singh and Ujjwal Thapa bagged three wickets each, while Rupesh Shrivastav took two wickets for Kathmandu. Prashanna Shakya and Sudeep Sharma picked one wicket each.
In reply, Kathmandu was bundled out for 153 runs in 44.4 overs while chasing the modest target of 218 runs after APF’s Sanjam bagged four wickets.
Kathmandu started its run chase in a shaky manner losing opener Prakash Bista for a duck and lost skipper Sanjay Basnet (10 runs off 17 balls) in 5.1 overs while there were only 17 runs on the board.
However, Bhupendra Thapa Chhetri tried some good shots to anchor Kathmandu inning but went to the pavilion scoring only 25 runs off 34 balls smashing four boundaries.
Aadil Khan top scored with 38 runs after facing 76 balls but at the other end the batsmen kept collapsing at small individual scores. Sudeep Sharma remained not out on 25 runs off 35 balls that included two sixes and a four.
Man-of-the-match Sanjam gave away only 23 runs in 10 overs to take four wickets for APF, while Yagyaman Kumal claimed two wickets.
On Monday, Army Club will play against Region No 1 (Biratnagar) at TU Ground, while Region No 2 (Birgunj) will meet Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) at Engineering Ground.
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