Spinner Sushan Bhari grabbed five wickets for Tribhuvan Army Club as they secured a must-win 69-run victory over Gandaki Province to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals in the Prime Minister Cup National One-Day Cricket Tournament at the Mulpani ground on Sunday.

Invited to bat first, Army posted 165 runs in 47.4 overs on the back of a half century by skipper Binod Bhandari before Bhari shone with ball to bowl out Gandaki for 96 runs in 33.2 overs.

A victory over Karnali in their last game on Tuesday would cement Army’s place in the semi-final as group runners up behind Armed Police Force (APF) Club, who have already sealed their place in knockout rounds as table toppers. Army are third in the standings with four points, one point behind Gandaki and three behind APF. But APF and Gandaki have already played all four group games while Army have a match in hand.

Army, despite losing the first wicket with 43-runs on board, looked to be in trouble after they lost the next five wickets adding only 11 runs. But captain Bhandari, batting at number eight, lifted the innings with 79-ball 54.

He hit four fences and two sixes and also shared 79-run stand for the seventh wicket with Bhim Sharki. The latter contributed 45-ball 39 that included three fences and a six before he ran out. Bhandari, dismissed as the last wicket, was caught by Krishna Poudel in a delivery by Chandra Paudel.

Opener duo Arjun Saud and Anil Mandal were the other Army batters to contribute in double digit figures scoring 13 runs and 26 runs respectively.

Gandaki bowler Bipin Khatri claimed four scalps in his 10 over spell conceding 23 runs with two maiden overs. Kamal Pariyar pocketed two wickets.

Chasing the target, openers Sameer Kandel and Arjun Kumal gave a brief challenge to Army before the latter was dismissed for 14 runs with 41 runs on board. But his departure followed a dramatic collapse of Gandaki innings. They lost next five wickets for 17 runs with Bhari bowling out three of them and Kushal Malla dismissing two batters.

Opener Kandel scored 39 off 92, the highest of the innings, which included five fences. He was trapped leg before by Bikram Sob. Captain Bipin Chhetri was the only other batter for Gandaki to touch double digit figures scoring 19 off 26 as four Gandaki players were out for a duck.

Army spinner Bhari, named man-of-the-match, gave away 14 runs in his nine-over spell that included two maiden overs. Shahab Alam and Kushal Malla pocketed two wickets each.

Lumbini’s semi hopes hang by thread

In a Group B match, Lumbini Province edged Province 1 by 39 runs at the TU ground in Kirtipur to stay on the fray for the semi-final.

Captain Dev Khanal scored 89 runs off 98 as Lumbini, electing to bat first, posted 290-8 before they bowled out Province 1 for 251 runs despite a fighting 74 off 60 from his counterpart Siddhant Lohani.

Lumbini’s Aakash Tripathi (45), Sandeep Rajaili (44), Bishal Bikram KC (32) and Krishna Karki (31) made significant contributions for the team.

Province 1 bowler Dipak Joshi clinched four wickets and Sarwan Yadav accounted for two.

Apart from Lohani, Province 1 openers Ankit Subedi hit 48-ball 52 and Niraj Mukhiya scored 37-ball 46, but it was not enough for them to win the game.

Lumbini bowlers Durgesh Gupta, Basir Ahamad and Dev Khanal grabbed two wickets each. Khanal was declared the man-of-the-match.

The outcome meant Madhesh and Lumbini are second and third respectively in the standings with four points each while Police are leading the table with six points. But Lumbini played all four group matches while Madhesh played two games.

Only the top two finishers of the group will qualify for semi-finals meaning Madhesh could qualify for the semi-final even if they add one point from remaining two matches. But should they lose both matches by a big margin, Lumbini could make it into the semi-final as group runners up.