Armed Police Force (APF) women registered a cakewalk 62-run win over Bagmati Province on Thursday. With this triumph, APF extended their lead to 2-0 in the three-match Bagmati Women’s Bilateral Series and won the series with one match still to be played.
Once again, Bagmati entered the field without their regular captain Ashmina Karmacharya, as well as Sony Pakhrin and Yashoda Bist, who were sidelined due to injuries. The standout performer in APF’s victory was Rajmati Airee
Invited to bat first at Mulpani Cricket Ground, APF piled up a decent total of 143/3 in the allotted 20 overs. Mamta Chaudhary and Rajmati Airee shared a century stand (102) for the first wicket before Mamta departed for a well-made 46 from 42 balls. Rajmati remained unbeaten till the end and scored 70 runs from 63 balls. She hammered five boundaries and two sixes.
For Bagmati, Krishma Gurung picked up two wickets (4-0-27-2) whilst Khusi Dangol grabbed one. Sanskriti Phuyal despite missing out on any scalps bowled an economical spell of 3-0-13-0.
In response, Bagmati managed to score 81/7 in front of a rigid APF bowling attack. Salina Silwal top scored with 21 runs. Yashu Pandey scored an unbeaten 20 runs with a couple of boundaries while opener Helisha Gurung contributed nine-ball 11 runs.
Rekha Rawal and Nisha Bhatta picked up two wickets each for APF. Karuna Bhandari (4-2-10-1) and Sonu Khadka (2-0-3-1) conceded only 16 runs from six overs and shared two wickets between them.
The Bagmati Province Cricket Association organized a three-match series for their women’s team against APF as part of their preparation leading up to the PM Cup. APF won the first match by 72 runs whereas the last match of the series will be played on Friday.
Bagmati’s squad was formed based on two tournaments. The selection tournament held at Gautam Buddha Rangashala showcased district teams representing Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, and Chitwan. Subsequently, Bagmati Red, Green, and Blue teams were established, engaging in a series of matches (Elite Trophy). The squad’s ultimate selection was determined based on performances in these tournaments
