Baitadi registered a comfortable six-wicket victory over Region No 2 Birgunj and is close to the final of the tournament. In the last league match, Baitadi will face Region No 7 Janakpur. Biratnagar defeated Region No 8 Pokhara by 126 runs.[break]
In the match played at TU Ground, Birgunj opted to bat first and scored a moderate total of 140 runs in 36.3 overs losing all the wickets. Baitadi successfully chased the target in 22.5 overs losing four wickets.
Baitadi openers Deependra Chand and Tekendra Mal shared 125-run partnership for the first wicket and confirmed victory. Mal was the first batsman to be removed from the crease in the 19th over. Mal scored 43 runs off 45 balls with six boundaries. Chand scored 64 runs off 68 balls with 10 boundaries.
Birgunj opener Aquib Ali Ansari was the highest scorer for the team with 38 runs off 55 balls. Ansari and Nitesh Thakur shared 77-run partnership for second wicket. Thakur scored 27 runs off 71 balls while Tarik Ansari scored 15 runs off 19 balls. Other than these three batsmen none of the other batsmen were able to reach double figure margin.
Manoj Chand grabbed three wickets, Neeraj Pokhrel took two and Jagdish Chand, Bhim Sarki and Sundar Bist took a wicket each.
In the match played at Institute of Engineering Ground, Pulchowk, Biratnagar opted to bat first and scored a huge total of 249 runs losing all the wickets in 40 overs. Biratnagar lost its first wicket with 23 runs on board. Mukunda Yadav and Mayananda Chaudhary shared 83-run partnership for the second wicket and guided the team to a big total.
Yadhav was back to the pavilion with 44 runs off 55 balls which included five boundaries. Chaudhary scored 59 runs off 69 balls with five boundaries and a huge six. Rajeev Yadhav scored quick fire 29 runs off 22 balls.
Chasing the total of 250 runs, Pokhara could manage to score only 122 runs. Man-of-the-match Utsav Dahal grabbed four wickets to restrict Pokhara to a low total. Heman Rai took three while Rohit Singh took two wickets. Sangarsh Poudel was the highest scorer for the losing team with 22 runs off 23 balls.
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