MPC tossed into final

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POKHARA, March 2 : Even the vociferous support from the partisan crowd failed to push the hosts Sahara Blue to the Caravan Gold Cup Football final Saturday as they run out of luck against Mahendra Police Club (MPC), losing on a toss of a coin.

The lady luck eventually kissed the police outfit at the local Pokhara Stadium after a tense energy-sapping semifinal when the referee Dilip Rajak’s coin took their side when both the sides were tied at 8-8 after each side had 9 tries at the goal.

The teams failed to break the 1-1 stalemate at the regulation time and added extra-time.

It was an unfortunate end to Sahara Blue’s cup campaign after a promising start. They took the lead after MPC’s Narottam Gautam failed to net the fourth shot of the tie-breaker. However, all the excitement fizzled out when Sahara Blue player Dipendra Tamang ballooned his shot over the crossbar. That led to a rare sudden-death penalty shoot-out but the standoff remained.

After an unproductive first session, Sahara Blue took the lead when Nirajan Rayamajhi shot past the police ‘keeper. Raimajhi, receiving the ball just outside the penalty area, blasted it past the opponent ‘keeper to take his team 1-0 up six minutes into the second half.

However, the lead did not last for long as MPC striker Hari Khadka took it upon him to equal the score at 1-1 two minutes later. Khadka’s shot, which came in from left of the penalty area, was initially punched off by Sahara goalie Upendra Man Singh. But his block only landed in front of rushing Khadka, who had little difficulty pushing the rebound into the net to score the all-important equaliser.

Sahara goalie Singh, despite conceding the goal, was by far the best player for his team in the match. He, rather than the other defenders, was the reason behind Sahara not allowing any goal earlier on. On the other hand, MPC defenders looked strong and rarely let Sahara forwards through.

Sahara Blue had entered the semi-finals after a thumping 5-0 win against Blue Sports Club of Dehradun. Four of those five goals were scored by Nirajan Raimajhi in the match. Raimajhi is the highest scorer in the tournament so far.

MPC will lock horns with Manang Marsyangdi for the title on Monday.

Shrestha stars in Parsa’s win

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KATHMANDU, March 2 : Rajiv Shrestha starred with both bat and ball as Parsa Cricket Association (PCA) posted a humiliating 147-run defeat on the Baneshwor Cricket Club (BCC) in the opening match of the Ganeshman Memorial cricket tournament on Saturday.

Shrestha accomplished a rare feat of removing eight batsmen in an innings after contributing quick 45 runs to the PCA total. Although he was a bit expensive giving away 35 runs in his 8-over spell, he negotiated it with eight scalps.

Earlier, PCA put up a total of 233 runs for six in the allotted 40 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. Apart from Shrestha, other major contributors to the Parsa total were Kimon Ojha (54) and Pratap Maharjan (40). Musarraf Ijhar chipped in with explosive 34 off 25 balls to push the total in excess of 230 .

For Baneshwor, Ritesh Baral, although giving away over six runs an over, was the most successful bowler with wickets to his name. Sudhir Sharma, Ashok Chaudhary and Rajesh Chaudhary took a wicket each. Chasing a stiff target which required almost run-a-ball, Baneshwor batters failed to impress and the whole innings folded up for 86 runs. The major contributor in the innings were extras, which accounted for 23 runs.

However, there was a stage in the run chase when BCC looked like putting up a good fight. The second wicket partnership of 43 runs between Subrat Pandey (21) and Ashok Chaudhary (21) was the highlight of the BCC innings, after which the wickets fell like pack of cards. Nawab Ahmed and Amit Mehta took a wicket each.

NRT overpower Morang XI 3-2

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BUTWAL, March 2 : NRT scored a 3-2 win over Morang XI in a fiercely contested match held Saturday under the fifteenth Tilottama Gold Cup Football tournament.

Morang XI, who fought back from two goals down to level the score at 2-2, were nailed down by NRT’s Sundar Nepal with an early second half goal.

NRT, employing an all-out attack from the outset, broke open the Morang defence to take a 1-0 lead as early as in the 2nd minute when striker Hari Thakuri comprehensively beat the rival keeper with his pile drive from the penalty area.

As NRT continued to build pressure on Morang, the latter’s defender resorted to rough tackles and as a result they were penalised with a penalty in the 18th minute. Shyam Mali stepped up and made no mistake in converting his shot into goal to widen the gap to 2-0.

Although the match maintained its vigour with both the sides trading attacks, it was also marred by string of lost chances at either end. As the match grew into tense battle, the referee cautioned Morang’s Preetam Rai and NRT’s Pradip Dangol with yellow card.

Morang XI, with a huge cheer from the local crowd behind, staged their comeback through a well-orchestrated move in the 20th minute. Binod Lama, after being put through with a clear pass, put his low shot into the net from the penalty area to narrow the gap to 2-1.

NRT missed out on a glorious chance to regain two-goal cushion in the 23rd minute when Pradip Dangol failed to give direction to his full-blooded shot and it flew over defender’s head.

In the 27th minute, it was the turn of Morang XI to push NRT to their toes. And this time they did not spurn it. Ani Rai, collecting a pass just outside the penalty area, cracked a powerful shot that landed right into the back of the net to square the score at 2-2.

NRT pushed hardly for lead and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions before the half time but failed both the times.

However, their tireless effort bore fruit right after resumption of play when Nepal put NRT back into the lead.

In the 65th minute, NRT missed on a corner kick and in the pursuit Thakuri had to be carried off the field for treatment after he sustained injury to his face from opposition’s rough tackle.

Morang XI gave everything they had in their desperate attempt to level the game and also succeeded in earning scoring chances in the 68th and 71st minutes. But their poor finishing put paid to their tireless efforts and NRT hanged on to the 3-2 lead.

Friends’ Club will take on Youth Sports Club of Birgunj on Sunday.

Tungram,Excelsior excel

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KATHMANDU, March 2 : Excelsior overcame a stiff challenge of Triyog School by 27-21 in the senior girls’ category on Saturday to continue their march in the fourth Wilson Inter-school Basketball tournament.

Triyog, despite Sonal Shrestha’s individual brilliance with 12 points, succumbed to their second narrow defeat in as many days. They had suffered a 16-12 loss at the hands of Tungram Academy on Friday.

Unlike, Triyog girls who solely relied on Shrestha;s individual effort, Excelsior looked more composed as a team with Bina Yonzon and Alina Shrestha leading them to the triumph. Yonzon scored 9 points while Shrestha bagged 6 points.

Rupy’s International, led by Reshma Sijapati’s 13 points, scored a 18-11 win over New Summit School in the other match under senior girls’ section. Anisha Kansakar also chipped in with 5 points for the winning side while Sarita Shrestha with 7 points was the lone player to shoulder New Summit’s challenge.

The most exciting match of the day was played between Reliance and Ideal English School in the junior boys’ category. It remained anyone’s match till the very end before Reliance emerged out 12-1 winners. Pramit Ghale scored 5 invaluable points for the winners.

The hosts Wilson Academy, however, coasted to a comfortable 43-24 win over Excelsior in the same category. Ishwor Chaulagain was the main influence behind the win as he scored the game’s highest 18 points.

In the senior boys’ category, Jogendra Shrestha pulled Gyan Niketan out of trouble against Maha Manjushree for a close 39-33 win. In the match dominated by individual performances, Shrestha accounted for 20 points while Santosh Gautam led Maha Manjushree fight with 15 points. There were wins also for Tungram Academy and Sagarmatha Boarding School in the senior boys’ section as they put out the challenge of South Point and RIBS respectively.

Tungram, powered by Sushant Ghotame’s 18 points, beat South Point 48-43 while Sagarmatha quelled the challenge of RIBS ‘B’ to win the match by 68-53. Sagarmatha’s victory was centred around their trio – Sanju Thapa (23), Rajesh Maharjan (14) and Anup Subedi (13) while Ralash Shrestha’s effort with 19 points for RIBS ‘B’.