Three Teams Secure Spots in Semifinals of SPA Kailali Pride League Cricket Tournament

Dhangadhi. Three teams have been confirmed for the semifinals of the fourth edition of the Inter-Municipality Level SPA Kailali Pride League, currently underway at the Phapla Cricket Ground in Dhangadhi. Budhiganga Municipality from Bajura, Ghodaghodi Municipality from Kailali, and Punarbas Municipality 'B' from Kanchanpur have advanced to the final four.

In the match held on Monday, Punarbas 'B' secured its ticket to the semifinals by defeating Tikapur Municipality by a large margin.

Punarbas 'B', batting first after losing the toss, posted a total of 166 runs before being bowled out in 19.5 overs. Naren Bhat contributed the highest 38 runs for Punarbas, followed by Abhishek Pal with 25, Ashish Luhar with 24, U-19 team captain Ashok Dhami with 23, and Narayan Joshi with 18 runs. On the bowling side, Tikapur's Tul Bahadur Thapamagar took 3 wickets, while captain Travis Joshi, Solup Chaudhary, and Tul Bahadur Thapa each took 2 wickets. Paras Timilsina claimed 1 wicket.

Chasing a challenging target of 167 runs, Tikapur's batting performance was very disappointing. Tikapur was bundled out for just 54 runs in 12.5 overs. Captain Travis Joshi scored 19 runs for the team, but no other batter managed to reach double digits. Ashok Dhami single-handedly dismantled Tikapur's innings, taking 4 wickets, while other bowlers took 1 wicket each.

In the first match of the day, also held on Monday, Alital Rural Municipality kept its hopes of reaching the semifinals alive by defeating Bardagoriya Rural Municipality by 7 wickets.

Bardagoriya, choosing to bat first after winning the toss, was all out for 90 runs in 18.1 overs. Except for Deepak Kudmal (22 runs), other batters delivered forgettable performances. Nirajan Gautam of Alital, who was also named Player of the Match, delivered an excellent spell, conceding only 10 runs for 4 wickets in 2.1 overs. Neeraj Ayer, Deepak Tamata, and captain Dil Bohara each took 1 wicket.

Alital comfortably chased down the modest target of 91 runs in 10.5 overs, losing 3 wickets. Captain Dil Bohara played an aggressive unbeaten innings of 44 runs off just 28 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. Nirajan Gautam remained unbeaten on 19 runs, while Raju Rijal added 16 runs. Roshan Rawal took 2 wickets for Bardagoriya, but it was not enough to secure the win for the team.

The match scheduled for today, Tuesday, between Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City and Alital Rural Municipality will determine the fourth and final team to reach the semifinals.

Twelve local levels from the Sudurpaschim Province are participating in this tournament organized by the District Cricket Association Kailali. The winner of the tournament, which runs until Chaitra 5, will receive a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and an attractive trophy, while the runner-up will receive 1 lakh rupees.

According to District Cricket Association Kailali President Vikram Bista, the tournament's best player will be awarded a trophy and a cash prize of 20,000 rupees, while the best bowler and best batter will each receive a trophy and 15,000 rupees, and the emerging player will receive a trophy and 10,000 rupees. Additionally, the 'Man of the Match' in each game will receive a cash prize of 2,000 rupees.