Rain saved Province 5 blushes as Sudurpaschim Province were forced to share points in their second match of the Prime Minister Cup One-Day National cricket tournament on Thursday.

In a Group ‘A’ game at the TU Stadium, a half century from opener Khadak Bohora lifted Sudurpaschim to 188 all out in 49.5 overs after they elected to bat first. Province 5 were reeling at 56-4 19 overs but were lucky after consistent rain washed out the remainder of the day with both teams sharing one point apiece.

Province 5 were more than 30 runs behind under Duckworth/Lewis method but for the outcome of the match, Sudurpaschim needed to bowl six more deliveries which didn’t happen due to rain. Province 3 currently lead the Group ‘A’ standings with four points from three matches, while Nepal Armed Police Force Club have four from two. Sudurpaschim and Province 5 have one point from two games.

Province 5 struggled in their chase right from the start of the innings after losing opener Sandeep Sunar (three) to Aakash Chand in the fifth over. Another opener Shubendu Pandey made 29 off 56 with four boundaries before he was bowled by spinner Binod Lama who took 2-18 from five overs.

Earlier, Sudurpaschim were restricted to 81-5 in 24.4 overs before Khadak held the innings adding 60 runs for the sixth wicket with Naresh Bohora. Khadak looked pretty composed in the game but fell victim to a terrible mix-up with Naresh running himself out in the 40th over. He made 62 off 107 balls with seven fours and a six.

Naresh made 31 off 54 and Narendra Saud chipped in 21 off 29. Both batsmen hit a boundary each. Lokesh Bam (19) was Sudurpaschim’s next best scorer. Skipper Krishna Karki, Siddhant Raj Shahi and Jitendra Sahani took two wickets each for Province 5.

On Friday, Nepal Armed Police Force Club will take on minnows Gandaki Province in Mulpani and Province 1 will play Karnali in a Group ‘A’ game in Kirtipur.