Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Lumbini Province made winning starts to their Prime Minister Cup National Women’s Twenty20 cricket tournament campaign in Itahari, Sunsari, on Saturday.

APF registered a thumping seven-wicket victory over Gandaki Province and Lumbini saw off Karnali Province by 98 runs at the Janata Cricket Park in Itahari.

In the earlier fixture, Gandaki were sent in to bat and were restricted to 51/7, before AFC raced to victory in 8.4 overs, ending the game at 52/3.

Gandaki captain Shristhi Jaisi was the only player to touch double digit figures, scoring a 24-ball 14 that also included a hit to the fence.

APF bowler Suman Bist was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets. The player-of-the-match conceded only six runs in her four-over spell. Nary Thapa, Sushma Shrestha, Sita Rana Magar and Rajmati Airee shared a wicket each.

In the APF run chase, captain Sita Rana Magar and Roma Thapa remained unbeaten on 19 runs and 14 runs, respectively, and shared an unbeaten partnership of 33 runs. Rana Magar hit two boundaries in her 22-ball knock and Thapa smashed two boundaries in her run-a-ball innings.

Gandaki captain Jaishi claimed all three wickets of APF. She gave away 19 runs in her four-overs of bowling.

In the late fixture, opting to bat first, Lumbini Province scored 147/5 and bowled out Karnali for a meagre total of 49 runs in 18.1 overs.

Opener Laxmi Chaudhary contributed 33 off 33, the highest of the innings, studded with five hits to the fence. Saraswati Pun played an unbeaten knock of 25 off 30 balls. She hit three fours. Opener Ashma Pulami Magar (29-ball14) and Ranju Shrestha (14-ball 10) were other notable scorers.

Yamunua Tharu and Bina Thapa of Karnali grabbed two wickets each. Tharu conceded 22 runs in her four overs of bowling, while Thapa gave away 20 runs in her four overs.

In the run chase, opener Kiran Kunwar and middle-order bat Yamuna Tharu were the only Karnali batters to reach double-digit scores. Kunwar scored 10 off 12 and Tharu scored 13 off 44 balls.

Lumbini bowler Kritika Marasini dismissed top three batters, including openers Kunwar and Trishna Biswakarma and one down Rama Budathoki. The latter two failed to open their accounts. Marasini, who returned with figures of 4-0-11-3 was named the player of the match.

Madhu DC also claimed three scalps conceding five runs in her four overs, while Sushmita Bhusal took two wickets.