A half-century from Pradeep Airee and fair contribution from middle order spurred the Gurkhas to 287-9. Spinner duo Basanta Regmi and Aakash Bista then picked up three wickets each to restrict X-Factors for 104 in 25 overs. It was X-Factors’ second defeat in the tournament.

In Kanchanpur, Panchan-kya Tez eked out a 26-run win and inflict Jagdamba Giants their first loss in a match reduced to 40 overs. Gurkhas, Tez, Giants, Sagarmatha Legends and Vishal Warriors have two points each.

In  Dhangadi, openers Subash Khakurel (28) and Suman Shrestha (27) laid the foundation for a big total for Gurkhas with a 52-run stand for the first wicket. After the openers departed, Airee (67) took the team to 200-run mark with useful partnerships of 44 runs with Antim Thapa (27) and another 45 with  Regmi (23). Man-of-the-match Airee hit five fours and two sixes in  his 62-ball knock.

Aakash Gupta (23), Surendra Chand (20) and Santosh Baral (20) pushed Gurkhas close to 300-run mark, the highest total by a team so far in the tournament. Amar Singh Routela picked up three wickets for X-Factors, while Rahul Pratap Singh and Hari Shankar Sah claimed two apiece.

X-Factors had a disastrous start when Lalit Singh Bhandari removed opener Subash Pradhan (0) in the second ball. Sah (6) was next to go at 37-2. Faizlur Rehman Khan played some delightful strokes making 38 off 30 with six fours and a six before

Airee trapped him leg before wicket. Gyanendra Malla stroked four boundaries in his 17-ball 22. But the skipper’s dismissal triggered a collapse as X-Factors lost their last seven wickets for just 16 runs. Regmi returned with 3-6, Bista took 3-23 and Bhandari grabbed 2-12 for Gurkhas.

In Kanchanpur, crucial knocks from skipper Sharad Vesawkar (52 off 48), Sunny Pun (49 off 66) and Aarif Sheikh (40 off 32) lifted Tez to 205-5. A middle order collapse then saw Giants bundle out for just 189 in 38.1 overs. Prem Tamang top scored with 28 runs for Giants. Bhuwan Karki (3-29) and KC (3-24) shared six wickets for Tez.

‘CAN hindering cricket development’

Zohra Sports Management (ZSM), the organisers of the Ncell Nepal Premier League (NPL), accused the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) of being “the  biggest thorn in the development of the game.” “CAN has been extending technical assistance for corporate and college tournaments,” Zohra said in a statemet. “They barred umpires from NPL but allowed top cricketers to compete. We are very disappointed with CAN’s discriminatory behaviour against NPL,” added the release on Friday.

CAN, against the will of its president Tanka Angbuhang, withdrew NPL ownership alleging ZSM of taking decisions all by itself and its failure to disclose financial transactions. “It shows some CAN members have become the biggest thorn of Nepali cricket.”