Nepalgunj elected to bat and was all out for 99 runs in 24.4 overs at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. In reply, Janakpur was all out for 54 runs in 15.1 overs.[break]
Nepalgunj had a poor start and was teetering at 14/6 in 5.3 overs. However, Rekha BC and Sabitri Chhetri played crucial knocks to rescue Nepalgunj with a 76-run partnership for the seventh wicket. BC scored 41 runs off 64 balls while Chhetri added invaluable 27 runs off 48 balls. BC struck five boundaries. Five of the Nepalgunj batswomen were out without scoring. Janakpur bowlers conceded 23 extras.
Rosi Kadari took three wickets while Mamta Chaudhary and Amrita Chaudhary claimed two wickets each for Janakpur.
Chasing a 100-run target, only Saraswati Chaudhary offered some resistance to the bowling attack of Nepalgunj. Chaudhary remained unbeaten on 13 runs off 26 balls while rest of the batswomen failed to reach even double figures. Had Nepalgunj not given away 25 runs as extras, Janakpur would have suffered an even bigger defeat.
Player-of-the-match Samana Pun dismissed four batswomen of Janakpur while Anu KC and Dimple Khadka claimed two wickets each.
Birgunj beats Kathmandu
In the opening match of the tournament, Region No 2 (Birgunj) defeated Region No 3 (Kathmandu) by four wickets.
Kathmandu elected to bat at the TU Cricket Ground and was all out for 98 runs in 25 overs. Sita Shrestha and Puja Ghimire took three wickets each for Birgunj while Pushpa Aryal and Nirmala Pakuwal claimed two wickets each to restrict Kathmandu to a low total. Kanchan Shrestha (13 runs off 30 balls) and Rabina Bhandari (12 runs off 6 balls) were the highest contributors for Kathmandu. Kathmandu received 35 runs from extras.
In reply, Shanti Khatiwada and Sajani Shrestha shared two wickets each and Sangita Gauchan ran out Dibya Shrivastav to leave Birgunj at 33/5 in 6.5 overs. However, Sita Shrestha scored an unbeaten 45 runs off 41 balls and Nisha Giri garnered 12 runs off 45 balls to guide Birgunj to victory. They added 63 runs for the sixth wicket. Asmita Kharel trapped Giri LBW in the third ball of the 21st over but Puja Ghimire (1 run) and player-of-the-match Shrestha remained unbeaten to seal the four-wicket victory. Kathmandu bowlers conceded 24 extras.
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