Nepal Army Club defeated their departmental rivals Nepal Police Club by 13 runs in the last-over thriller to advance into the semi-finals of the rain-affected men’s T20 cricket at the National Games as group ‘A’ winners on Wednesday.

Chasing a moderate 178 at the TU Cricket Ground, Police needed 17 runs in the final over but Army all-rounder Sompal Kami—who had had an expensive bowling spell in his previous three overs giving away 42 runs for 1 wicket—shone late removing Karan KC (9) after Yogendra Singh Karki (14) was run out following a mix up. Kami conceded only 2 runs in his last over.

Police started poor after Kushal Bhurtel departed cheaply for just 9 runs. But Bhurtel’s opening partner Sunil Dhamala smashed 27 off 15 balls and put on a 41-run partnership with skipper Dipendra Singh Airee (21). It was Dhamala and Airee pair who had made mockery of Kami’s bowling in the fourth over chopping out 23 runs including three sixes.

But Bhari—who had starred on Tuesday with a five-wicket haul against Lumbini—broke their partnership sending back Airee in the next over.

Aarif Sheikh hit 24-ball 40 that featured one boundary and three sixes and shared a 53-run stand with Pawan Sarraf for the fourth wicket to lift Police innings but Shahab Alam stood in their path removing both of them, both caught by Sonu Tamang.

Kami did the rest of the job to give Army their third successive victory and fire them into the last four.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Army scored 177-5 in the stipulated 19 overs, with half-centuries each from opener Arjun Saud and captain Binod Bhandari.

Saud cracked seven fours and two sixes in his 34-ball 53 before he was run out in the final ball of the 10th over.

By then, Police had already inflicted damage on the top order, with Saud’s opening partner, Hari Chauhan, back to the pavilion for duck, caught by Gulsan Jha off KC, and Bhim Sharki (15) trapped lbw by Lalit Rajbanshi. Rohit Paudel soon followed for 14, caught by Bhurtel off Jha.

But captain Bhandari led the charge with his aggressive batting display, scoring a quick-fire 66 off 29 deliveries that included two fours and seven sixes to guide Army to a respectable total.

Rajesh Pulami contributed 14 runs and Tamang remained not out for 1.

The win gave Army eight points from five matches, two points away from Police, who are second in the six-team standings. Police are level on six points with Karnali Province but qualified for semis based on a superior run rate.

Earlier at the same venue, Karnali had kept their hopes of reaching the last four alive with an eight-run win over Gandaki Province.

In a match reduced to 13 overs per side due to rain, Amrit Gurung took four wickets giving away 11 balls to restrict Karnali to 93-7. Prakash Jaishi top scored for Karnali with 19.

In reply, Jaisi, Anuj Chunara and Dinesh Adhikari combined to rip off the Gandaki batting line up to limit Gandaki to 85-9. Jaisi and Chunara took two wickets each while Adhikari picked three scalps.

Sandeep Chettri came at number six and scored 49 to stage a fight back but Karnali’s lethal bowling was too much for other batters as Gandaki went out of the tournament playing just one match. Gandaki’s all previous four matches were called off due to rain.

Despite the win, Karnali finished third and bowed out.

Madhesh and Lumbini, both of whom have three points each, also exited the competition.

The rain-hit men’s T20 cricket have come under fire after APF Club and Bagmati Province were eliminated from group ‘B’ without playing a match after all of their matches were abandoned due to rain.

Of the total 25 scheduled matches, 16 have been called off. Of them, all 11 fixtures scheduled at Mulpani Cricket Ground have failed to yield results due to incessant rain.

On Tuesday, the National Sports Council held discussions with the participating teams to explore the possibilities of rescheduling the cancelled fixtures. But the plans could not materialise after Army objected saying that the games should go as per the schedule and the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and International Cricket Council (ICC) regulation.

Army take on group ‘A’ runners up Sudurpaschim Province and Police meet group ‘A’ winners NRNA Sports Academy for final spots in Kirtipur on Thursday.

The final will be played on Friday.