Bhairahawa, which had defeated Region No 7 Janakpur in the first match on Sunday, registered a five-wicket victory over Region No 5 Nepalgunj on Monday to continue its winning run in the tournament. Following the defeat, Nepalgunj is out of the tournament.[break]
In the match played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur, Nepalgunj opted to bat first and was bowled out for 151 runs in 47 overs. Ikhlaq Ahmed Warsi and Bibek Chaudhary grabbed three wickets each while Devendra Somare took two wickets for Bhairahawa.
Nepalgunj did not start the innings well as it kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nepalgunj had lost eight wickets by the 27th over with 85 runs on the board. Amar Singh and Puran Singh Khatri shared a 47-run partnership for the ninth wicket to guide the team to a modest total.
Singh scored 32 runs off 67 balls with two fours and a huge six while Khatri scored 21 runs off 45 balls with two boundaries. Wasim Halwai scored 24 runs off 54 balls with a four and a six. Nepalgunj received 20 runs as extras.
Bhairahawa successfully chased the target of 152 in 33.2 overs for the loss of five wickets. Bhairahawa lost its openers Nirmal Thapa (23) and Sushan Bhari (10) with 38 runs on the board. Kiran Pandey and Krishna Sen then shared a 54-run partnership for the third wicket to put the team in a commanding position.
Sen scored 37 runs off 44 balls with five boundaries while Pandey scored 38 runs off 48 balls with five boundaries. Rabindra Thapa remained unbeaten on 26 runs off 49 balls with four boundaries.
Siddhant Raj Shahi grabbed two wickets while Sunil Sunar, Inamuddin Halwai and Afak Sheikh shared a wicket each for Nepalgunj.
In another match played at the Institute of Engineering Ground, Pulchowk, Janakpur registered a 33-run victory over Region No 6 Baitadi. Winning the toss Janakpur scored 179 runs in 46.4 overs losing all wickets.
Janakpur lost opener Chandan Shah (8) with 21 runs on the board. Hari Shankar Sah and Abhishek Gautam shared a 29-run partnership for the second wicket. Sah hit 27 runs off 39 balls with three boundaries before being trapped lbw.
After the fall of Sah, Janakpur continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Abhishek Jha and Pradeep Sapkota shared a 44-run partnership for the ninth wicket and helped the team post a defendable total. Sapkota scored 23 runs off 16 balls with a six and two boundaries. Jha was unbeaten on 37 runs off 55 balls with three boundaries.
Dipendra Airee grabbed four wickets while Santosh Bhatta, Binod Lama and Yagya Man Kumal took two wickets each for Baitadi.
Chasing the target of 180 runs, Baitadi was restricted to 146 runs in 36.1 overs. Gopal Singh grabbed four wickets while Sameer Nepal took three wickets to give Janakpur its first win.
Opener Surendra Chand and Dipendra Airee were the highest scorers for the team as they both scored 39 runs each.
Related story
International flights stopped at Bhairahawa due to lack of 'bus...
