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Kathmandu Thursday May 24, 2001 Jestha 11, 2058.
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Saraswoti
beaten, TU in semis
Post Report
KATHMANDU, May 23 - Tribhuvan University (TU)
team lived upto the reputation of being one of the pre-tournament favorites beating
Saraswoti Campus by 40 runs to enter the semis in the 2nd Vice Chancellor Running Shield
cricket tournament, played at the TU cricket ground, Kirtipur.
TU, winning the toss and electing to bat, made
batting look easy as they scored 208 runs losing eight of their wickets while Saraswoti
could just manage 168 runs in 37.4 overs.
The University boys, as in the last match, did
not have a bright start as the first wicket fell down with just two runs on the board
despite change in the batting order. Kanchan Pant today opened with Naresh Nepal while
Durga Nath Subedi, the skipper went down the order to find some form.
With both the openers back in the pavilion at
24, it looked as if the Saraswoti bowlers had done their homework well. But the 77-run
third wicket partnership between Rabindra Thapa and Shanta Shah - the batsmen responsible
for elevating the innings in the last match - provided a strong base for the innings.
Thapa, this time around, did not miss his fifty
and was the top scorer of the match with a classy knock of 72 (105). Man of the match
today, he showed good patience on the wicket and was clinical in his strokeplay. He belted
four balls to the boundary while Shanta Shah scored a quick 28 runs off 31 balls.
Thapa, apart from the third wicket partnership,
was also involved in another half century partnership with Apurva Thapa for the fifth
wicket. Together they scored 54 runs, almost run-a-ball. Apurva scored 37 personal runs
off 33 balls with three fours. The partnership was broken as Rabindra was run out going
for the second run. This was his second run out in a row and he may have to improve on his
calling specially in the later part of his innings.
Nabin Rawal, man of the match in the last TU
outing, today had to be satisfied with just 19 runs from 14 balls including two
boundaries. He looked good enough for a lengthy innings but it was cut short by a run out
effected by Tarik Shah, today’s best performer for the Saraswoti side.
Saraswoti Campus’ bowling left a lot to be
desired today as most of the bowlers proved ineffective in the slog overs when the batsmen
were picking runs at will. The best bowling performance was from Sanjeev Neupane, who took
three wickets for 36 runs. Next on line was Tarik Shah with two wickets for 39 runs from
eight overs.
Chasing a target of 209 runs was never going to
be easy for the Saraswoti boys and their opening batsmen did not help the team’s
cause by trying to go after the bowling right away.
Kanchan Pant, opening bowler for TU, sent both
the openers to the pavilion with the scoreboard reading 19. The batsmen thereafter did not
show any resistance to the TU bowlers. Only Tarik Shah showed the spirit to win with a
wonderful knock of 53. He scored 5 boundaries in his 65 ball essay. The other batsman who
entertained the crowd was Dinkar Tai with 27 runs from 34 balls.
TU bowlers were on target throughout the
Saraswoti innings. It was the fielding that almost let them down. A total of seven catches
were missed today by the TU fielders, not a good sign for a side that is slated to face
Nepal Commerce Campus in the semis. TU fans can only hope that such a blunder is not
repeated in the next match.
Durga Nath Subedi, with three scalps, was the
most successful bowler while Kanchan Pant, Tomendra Subedi and Ajay Singh took two wickets
each for the victors. Durga was the one who broke the dangerous looking partnership of
Tarik Shah and Bikram Shrestha after the pair had put on 59 runs for the fifth wicket.
Tomorrow Tri-Chandra Campus will fight it out
with Pulchowk Campus for the single remaining berth to the semis.
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