Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club shared points with Gandaki after their group match got tied on Friday. In another match, the Tribhuvan Army Club registered a thumping 169-run victory over Sudurpaschim Province in the Prime Minister Cup One-Day National Cricket Tournament.

Sent to bat first at the Mulpani grounds, Gandaki bowled out APF for a paltry 115 runs. But Gandaki’s hopes of beating their star-studded foes hit a snag after Kamal Pariyar, the 10th wicket, was bowled by spinner Mousom Dhakal with the team scores tied at 115.

At the TU grounds, batting first, the Army posted 281-8 on the back of half centuries from opener Arjun Saud and Rohit Paudel. They later bowled out Sudurpaschim for 113 runs in 29.4 overs.

Army, that had succumbed to a 56-run defeat in their opener against APF, climbed to the third position in Group A. Army now has two points from as many matches, three points behind leaders APF and Gandaki, with a match in hand. Sudurpaschim are languishing at the bottom of the table, without a single win after three matches.

Army’s opener Saud played a run-a-ball 73, that included four boundary hits and two maximums. He also shared a 96-run partnership for the second wicket with Bhim Sharki, who contributed a 62-ball 34. The player-of-the-match Saud was caught by Gajendra Bhandari off Gajendra Bohara in the 28th over.

Paudel, who came in to bat at number four, chipped in with 52 off 53 balls. The knock comprised of four boundaries before Bohara caught him off a delivery by Sher Malla. Captain Binod Bhandari (28), Sonu Tamang (16) and Bikram Sob (not out, 16) were the other players to contribute in double-digits.

Sudurpaschim bowlers Hemant Dhami, Narayan Joshi and Gajendra Bohara picked up two wickets each.

Sudurpaschim made a poor start in their run chase and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They were at a time tottering at 5-34 before being bowled out for 113 runs. Lower order batter, Basant Khatri, contributed 25 runs, the highest of the innings.

Narayan Joshi (19), opener Gajendra Bhandari (17), Tek Rawal (15), Basant Karki (14) were among the other players to get to double-digit figures.

Army’s pacerman, Jitendra Mukhiya, grabbed three wickets in his 6.4 overs spell, conceding 22 runs. Bikram Sob and Shahab Alam picked up two wickets each.

At the Mulpani grounds, APF lost their opener Pradip Airee for a duck and Aasif Sheikh for 1 run. Lokesh Bam (22), Puran BK (23), Sundeep Jora (22), Bhuvan Karki (not out, 24) and Amar Routela (13), were the players for the departmental side to reach double-digit figures.

Gandaki bowlers Amrit Gurung and Arjun Kumal grabbed three wickets each, while Subash Bhandari claimed two wickets. Gurung gave away eight runs in his 4.1 overs, while Kumal conceded 16 runs in his six overs.

Chasing the target, Gandaki players also came up with a poor show with the bat. Avishek Basnet was the highest scorer for the team, contributing 24 off 43 balls. Opener Aruju Kumal (18), captain Bipin Khatri (17) and Kamal Pariyar (11) were the other key scores who got to double-digit scores.

Mousam Dhakal and Kishore Mahato grabbed four wickets each, while Bhuvan Karki got two. The man-of-the-match Dhakal, who dismissed the last batter, conceded 36 runs in his nine-over spell, bowling two maiden overs. Mahato conceded 27 runs in his nine overs, bowling one maiden.