TC in quarter-finals

Post Report

KATHMANDU, May 16 - Tri-Chandra Campus (TC) secured its place in the quarter-finals, defeating Nepal Engineering College (NEC) by nine wickets in the 2nd Vice-Chancellor Running Shield cricket tournament, at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground, Kirtipur today.

The decision of Nepal Engineering College’s skipper Rabin Kumar Pandey to bat first, proved fatal for the team that managed only 28 runs at the expense of top five batsmen of the side. Ujjwal Prasai, 26, and Shekhar Aryal, 11, tried to consolidate the innings with a useful partnership of 37. However, the innings was in trouble as both the batsmen failed in the same overs to Prabal Upadhya.

Man of the match, Prabal, with his precise bowling attack, mutilated the lower order taking four wickets for 13 runs. He was mainly responsible in limiting the NEC score at just 98 runs. Had it not been for number eight batsman Devendra Yadav, who made unbeaten 15 runs, the NEC total could have been worse. Yadav also belted two balls to the fence in the process.

Gaurav Pokhrel also bowled exceptionally, clinching three wickets in his seven over spell that offered just 17 runs along with a maiden over. Ritesh Baral claimed two wickets while Kiran Rana had to be satisfied with just one.

TC eased through the target of 99 runs in just 19 overs and won the match losing only one wicket. Subash Thapa and Purushottam Bista opened the TC innings and put on 73 runs for the first wicket. When Rajiv Panta came to the crease after the fall of Subash Thapa, it was a mere formality to finish off the game. Purushottam Bista remained unbeaten on 54, scoring run-a-ball. He drove the ball outside the fence for six times during his innings.

Tomorrow, Saraswoti Campus and Nepal Travel Tourism College will play for a place in the quarter- finals of the tournament.

NFFC welcomes ban

KATHMANDU, May 16 (PR) - Nepal Football Fan Club (NFFC), through a press release issued here today,welcomed the move of Asian Football Confederation (AFC), accusing All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) deliberate seeking to misguide the nation and AFC for private benefits.

Recently, AFC fined Nepal US$ 10,000 and barred Nepal to participate in Asian Youth Football championships until the end of 2002, for not allowing its players to be X- rayed to determine their accurate age, during the Vietnam tour, last year.

NFFC, being more aggressive on ANFA, accused ANFA being the hindrance of the carrier of the footballers, only for the frivolous self-seeking concerns. Those practices made the nation loss its spirit of sportsmanship, the self-respect of the fans and obstacle to the development of the football sector, the press release emphasized.

Nepali Cricket team for ICC Trophy announced

Post Report

KATHMANDU, May 16 (PR) - The final squad to represent Nepal in the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy was selected from a group of 25 probables today, says a press release from Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

The players were chosen by the selection committee under the chairmanship of Resham Gurung of National Sports Council. Four more players have been kept as substitutes.

The final squad stands as: Raju Khadka (captain), Ganesh Bahadur Shahi (vice-captain), Jaya Prakash Sarraf, Dipendra Chaudhari, Binod Das, Sanjam Regmi, Birendra Bikram Shah, Kiran Agrawal, Paras Lunia, Raj Kumar Pradhan, Paresh Lohani, Kush Gurung, Mehboob Aalam and Munik Kumar Shrestha.

The substitutes are: Sandeep Shrestha, Manoj Katuwal, Aamir Akthar and Durga Sen.