Tribhuwan Army Club booked a spot in the semi-final, leaving Gandaki Province behind. Army hammered Karnali by 140 runs in the final League stage match to surpass Gandaki.
APF topped the group with seven points, while Army secured three victories to collect six points. Meanwhile, Gandaki finished their tremendous campaign with five points. The tied match against APF and a ruthless batting collapse against Army itself played a major role in their exit.
Invited to bat first at Mulpani Cricket Ground, Army finished their 50 overs in 254/6. All batters contributed well; however, none of them could score a half-century. Binod Bhandari top scored with an unbeaten 37 runs. Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla added 35 runs each, while Hari Chauhan made a sluggish 31. Prakash Jaisi grabbed three wickets for Karnali.
In reply, Karnali were wrapped up for mere 114 runs in 28.3 overs in the absence of captain Rabindra Jung Shahi. Apart from 48 runs from opener Bipin Rawal, none of the batters could step up, and score runs against the rigid Army bowling attack. Surprisingly, Rohit Paudel was the pick of a bowler, grabbing three wickets. Shahab Alam and Hari Chauhan also bagged a couple of wickets each.
Rohit Paudel was adjudged as player of the match for his all-round performance.
Army will face Nepal Police Club in the semifinal. Police defeated Madhesh Province in the final league stage match to maintain their unbeaten run.
