Birgunj stun APF to win Nepal National cricket tournament

Birgunj with their National Cricket title.

Birgunj (Region 2) stunned Armed Police Force cricket team (APF) by three wickets to be crowned as winners of the Pepsi Standard Charted Nepal national One-Day Cricket tournament here at the Tribhuwan University Cricket Ground at Kathmandu, Nepal.

Batting first, APF managed to score 213 all out in 46.1 overs. Chasing the target of 214 runs to win, Birgunj had a disastrous start at 41-4, but Amit Shrestha and Aarif Sheikh played two of the most memorable knocks at the Tribhuwan University cricket ground to take the team to 214-7 with seven balls to spare. Amit Shrestha smashed 88 runs, while Aarif Sheikh scored 70 runs to help Birgunj lift the national title. They put together 147 runs partnership to help their team win the match. Birgunj had last won the national title in 2006.

Along with the National title, Birgunj earned cash prize of NRs 150,000 and APF got NRs 100,000.

Aarif Sheikh (Birgunj Region 2) was adjudged the man-of-the-series for his 11 wickets and 251 runs, while Puspa Thapa and Raj Kumar Pradhan of Region-I (Biratnagar) were named the best batsmen and bowler of the tournament respectively. Lalit Singh Bhandari of Region-IX (Dhangadhi) was named the emerging player of the tournament for his 15 wickets in five league games.