21 October, Kathmandu. Kushal Bhurtel bowled the best of his career and Nepal Police won the Prime Minister’s Cup National One Day Cricket by 191 runs against Madhesh Pradesh.
The competition for the group winners was between the two teams that had already reached the semi-finals. With this result the police became the winner of Group ‘B’.
Chasing the target of 274 runs at the Triby Cricket Ground, Madhesh got out for 82 runs in 28.3 overs. Police part-time bowler Kushal Bhurtel took 5 wickets in the first loss of the tournament to Madhesh. He took 2 maidens in 8.3 overs and spent 22 runs.
Adil Alam scored 42 runs for Madhes. He shared a 34-run partnership with Vishal Patel for the last wicket. Ratan Raunak scored 11 runs. Opener Harishankar Shah added 10 runs. Karan KC took 3 wickets and Rashid Khan took 2 wickets for the police.
Earlier, after winning the toss with the help of four middle-order batsmen, the police scored a total of 273 runs. Police team got out in 49.1 overs.
Although the first three batsmen were dismissed cheaply, Amit Shrestha, Arif Sheikh and captain Deepender Singh Airi did a great job. Amit, who scored 65 runs in 96 balls with the help of 9 fours, shared a 90-run partnership with Arif for the fourth wicket.
Vice-captain Arif shared a 65-run partnership with skipper Deepender for the fifth wicket. Arif was dismissed for 73 runs in 86 balls with the help of 8 fours and 1 six.
Deepender, who contributed 51 runs in 43 balls with the help of 3 fours and 1 six, shared a 52-run partnership with Dilip Nath for the sixth wicket. Dileep contributed 40 runs in 31 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 1 four. Police added 21 runs in the last four overs and lost four wickets. In the bowling, Rajesh Yadav and Rupesh Singh of Madhesh took 3-3 and Adil Alam took 2 wickets.
The winners of Group B will take on the runners-up of Group A in the semi-finals to advance to the finals. Madhesh will play the winner of Group A.
Photos: Vikas Shrestha / Online News