Nepal Police Club (NPC) have remained unbeaten in the Men’s PM Cup since the last edition. They won all nine games in the sixth edition in 2024, defeating Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) in the final to lift the title. On Thursday, they extended their winning streak to 17 games, defeating Bagmati Province in their seventh game of the seventh edition at Extratech Cricket Oval, Rupandehi.

The Dipendra Singh Airee-led side has 14 points from seven games followed by TAC (10 points from six games) and Lumbini (8 points from seven games).

Lumbini would have challenged TAC for the second position had they defeated Karnali in the second game of Day 12 at Siddhartha Cricket Stadium but that was not to be as they went down by five runs. With the win, Karnali climbed to the fifth position with 6 points from as many games.

Electing to bat first, NPC had a solid start as openers Kushal Bhurtel and Amit Shrestha put together a 124-run first-wicket partnership. Shrestha departed in 20.5 overs, falling two runs shy of his 50. Bhurtel, meanwhile, struck a 98-ball 88 that included 11 fours before he departed in 29.1 overs with 156/2 on board.

In-at-four Aarif Sheikh contributed 38 off 46, but it was Airee’s 60 off 46 (4 fours, 3 sixes) that took NPC to a formidable total of 297/8.

On the other hand, Bagmati did not have a good start as opener Ashutosh Ghiraiya departed for 12 runs in the third over. In-at-three Shubh Kansakar (36 off 28) tried to stabilise the innings alongside Ishan Pandey before he was stumped in the ball of Gulshan Jha. Pandey reached 70 off 98 leaving the team at 171/6 in 33.5 overs but the lower order could only take the team to 204 runs in 45.2 overs.

After four consecutive games of taking five or more wickets, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi could only pick four against Bagmati. Likewise, a hero with the bat, Bhurtel also took three while Karan KC bagged two.

Moreover, Bhurtel also entered the 1,000-run club in the Men’s PM Cup as only the seventh batter to achieve the feat.

In the day’s other play, Karnali barely defended their total against Lumbini. Two half-centuries from Arjun Gharti (56 off 84) and Dipendra Rawat (66 off 84) propelled Karnali to 205 runs before getting all out with seven balls remaining.

Dev Khanal (40 off 60) raised hope for Lumbini as he partnered well with Prajjwol Thapa. The duo took the team to 145/4 from 51/3 before Khanal’s departure.

Lumbini were in the chase until Thapa was on the crease but when he departed in 47.3 overs, adding 84 off 107, the team got bundled out in the next five runs, and lost by five runs.

NPC now have the chance to win two consecutive PM Cup titles without a single loss. They only have to defeat Karnali and TAC in their final two fixtures, and the second-placed team in the final.