The eighth edition of the Men’s PM Cup is about to conclude, with three match days of four league-stage matches and a final remaining.

But as the tournament moved towards its end for the season, Nepal’s premier one-day cricket event got extremely interesting on Monday with record performances in individual and team categories.

First off, Aasif Sheikh set a fresh record: Since the first edition in 2017, no batsman had scored a double century in the Men’s PM Cup until Sheikh scored 200 off 137 deliveries against Madhesh Province at TB Shah Cricket Ground in Birgunj on Monday.

Sheikh, also an opening batsman and wicketkeeper for the national men’s team, retired out at 208 off 142 balls. He smashed 17 sixes and 15 fours to get to the milestone.

It never looked like Sheikh could score a double ton.

He completed his fifty in 56 balls. Four more fours and sixes each in the next 34 deliveries saw Sheikh reach his second century of the edition. He then needed 29 more deliveries to reach the 150-run mark.

And then a showcase of skills saw Sheikh reach the area where no Nepali batter had ever dared to reach. He scored the remaining 50 runs for the double ton in 18 deliveries.

Alongside a record individual score, Sheikh also became the batsman with the most sixes in an innings of the Men’s PM Cup. He bested the record that stood tall since the first edition in 2017, where Saurav Khanal of the then Western Development Region smashed 11 sixes during his 90 off 49 against APF on May 29.

Winning the toss, Madhesh decided to field first against APF. They bagged the first wicket of the match in 7.3 overs as Deepak Bohara (13 off 23) got caught out. It was the last time Madhesh were happy to have bowled first.

From 26/1 in 7.3 overs, Sheikh, with a new partner in skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel, built a 145-run partnership for the second wicket.

After Paudel (55 off 73), Sheikh had a 171-run partnership for the third wicket with Sundeep Jora before he retired out after getting tired. Sheikh waited until the 46th over to end and Jora (56 off 42) completed his half-century to return to the pavilion.

The 171-run partnership was the highest third-wicket partnership in the Men’s PM Cup, while it was also the third-highest partnership ever.

Lokesh Bam (21 off 14) and Kamal Singh Airee (18 off 6) stayed not out as APF posted the record-highest total of 390/9 on the board.

The highest total previously was Nepal Police Club’s 355/9 against APF in the ongoing edition on March 24.

Meanwhile, Police’s record would have been bettered on Monday even if it was not for APF, as Tribhuvan Army Club also posted 362/8 against Koshi in the other match on Monday in Janakpur.

The mammoth target of 363 was set by Army on the back of Binod Bhandari’s 189 off 150, which comprised 21 fours and five sixes.

Bhandari was at 185 off 147 when he faced the first ball of the last over. A four in the second delivery by Ashish Magar saw Bhandari requiring 11 runs in the last four balls to become another batsman with a double ton.

However, Bhandari, trying to play an unorthodox shot over the wicketkeeper, missed the full toss delivery, and the ball hit the stumps.

It was Bhandari’s fifth century in the Men’s PM Cup. No one has as many centuries as Bhandari, who is followed by Sheikh with four centuries.

Bhandari and Sheikh are also the top two batters with the most runs in Men’s PM Cup history. Bhandari has 1,822 runs, and is followed by Sheikh with 1,662 runs.

Now the two have the highest individual scores as well. They bested the record of 158 runs scored by APF’s Pradeep Singh Airee against Madhesh during the second edition in 2018. Since Airee, no batsman had even reached the 150-run mark until Sheikh and Bhandari.

Bhandari’s century, which was the 39th in the Men’s PM Cup, was the 10th ton of the eighth edition, with which the most number of centuries in an edition has been levelled. The sixth edition in 2024 had also seen 10 centuries, of which Bhandari had scored two.

In turn, Army bundled out Koshi at 177 runs in 36 overs and extended their streak as the only unbeaten team in the tournament. Including a match affected by rain, Army, with seven wins in eight games, are at the top of the table with 15 points.

Army are now certain of playing the final with second-placed Sudurpashchim Province (12 points in nine games) in Birgunj on Friday.

It is the first time in Men’s PM Cup history that a provincial team has reached the final.

On the other hand, APF ended their campaign on a high though they could not reach the final. It was APF’s fifth win in nine games against Madhesh that saw them third on the table with 11 points.

APF did not have an easy win over Madhesh.

After finally getting Arniko Yadav (86 off 73) out as the fifth wicket, APF struggled to see off Mohammad Adil Alam. Despite struggling for the last seven games, Alam was on fire on Monday as he smashed a 43-ball 87 (six fours and eight sixes) that saw Madhesh reach 316/8 in the allocated overs.

The joint total of APF and Madhesh—706 runs—was the highest match aggregate in the tournament so far.

While the two finalists have been confirmed, four matches still remain in the league stage, where the bottom teams will be aiming to secure the top six positions and book a place at the next season of the Jay Trophy, a multi-day cricket tournament.

APF have already secured a spot in the top six. Police and Madhesh, placed fourth and fifth with nine points in eight games each, respectively, will face off in Birgunj on Wednesday. Lumbini, with seven points from seven games, have two fixtures remaining against Bagmati (eight points from eight games) and Army.

It will be the last league stage games for Gandaki and Karnali (three points in eight games) when they face off in Birgunj on Tuesday.

Regarding Koshi, it was their last game against Army on Monday. The easternmost province did not win a single game, while their one point came from the match against Madhesh that was washed away by rain.

The eighth edition of the Men’s PM Cup started on March 21. The 28-day tournament saw rest days on April 3, 7 and 11. There is a final rest day on April 16, a day before the final.