APF defeated Region No 5 (Nepalgunj) by seven wickets while NPC also beat Region No 2 (Birgunj) by seven wickets. With four defeats, both Nepalgunj and Birgunj are out of the tournament.[break]
In the match played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, APF won the toss and invited Nepalgunj to bat. Tight bowling from APF restricted Nepalgunj to a low total of 81 runs in 29.2 overs. Shakti Gauchan grabbed four wickets in his six overs conceding 17 runs. Basanta Regmi and Sanjam Regmi took two wickets each while Mehboob Alam sent one batsman back to the pavilion.
Nepalgunj batsmen could not play any big shots against the APF bowlers. Sahil Rana was the highest scorer in the Nepalgunj innings with 16 runs off 10 balls that included two fours and a six. Bhupendra Thapa made 15 and Anupam Singh scored 10. Seven Nepalgunj batsmen failed to reach double figures.
APF met the target of 82 runs in just 13.4 overs losing three wickets. APF lost the first wicket of opener Subash Khakurel (3) when the total score was 33 runs. Paresh Lohani scored 34 runs off 35 balls with five fours before being caught. Sharad Vesawkar remained unbeaten on 31 runs off 29 balls.
Nasir Ansari took two wickets in 6.4 overs conceding 40 runs while Subash Timilsina took one wicket.
In another match played at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground, Birgunj won the toss and was all out for 103 runs in 28 overs. Birgunj openers Amit Shrestha and Naresh Raj Giri were sent back to the pavilion in the fifth over.
Kanchan Thapa was the top scorer with 23 runs off 36 balls, while Sameer Thapa made 15 runs. The remaining eight batsmen were out before reaching double figures.
Bhuwan Karki took three wickets for NPC in six overs conceding eight runs. Binod Das and Manjeet Shrestha grabbed two wickets each while Pushpa Thapa and Pradeep Aire grabbed one wicket each.
NPC scored 109 runs losing three wickets in 22.2 overs. Shrestha hit a huge six off Bibek Dali to ensure victory for NPC. Openers Mahesh Chhetri and Binod Bhandari gave a good start to NPC. Chhetri scored 19 runs off 33 balls while Bhandari scored 11 runs. Aire and Faijlur Rahman guided the team to victory with a 70-run partnership for the third wicket.
Aire was not out on 33 runs off 52 balls with six fours. Rahman scored 31 runs off 37 balls with two boundaries and two huge sixes. Sameer Thapa, Jitendra Mukhiya and Bibek Dali took a wicket each.
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