Nepal Police Club (NPC) and Tribhuwan Army Club (TAC) share the trophy of 1st Prime Minister Cup Cricket Tournament 2074 as rain affected the final match at Tribhuwan University International Ground, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
Tribhuwan Army Club’s run chase had just started as mighty rain arrived at TU Ground. Earlier, skipper Binod Bhandari of Army won the toss and elected to field first. Nepal Police Club was restricted to a mere 126 in 45.1 overs. Jitendra Mukhiya (4 wickets) and Sushan Bhari (3 wickets) performed with the ball. Sunil Dhamala was the top scorer for Police with 32 runs from 90 deliveries. Siddhant Lohani scored 20 runs while Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Bhurtel and Sushil Kandel just managed to touch the double figure.
In reply, the start did not look promising for Army as they lost their 1st wicket early. However, the target being on the lower side meant the dismissal would not bring about serious concerns in the Army camp. Army were batting at 7/1 in the 3rd over as rain poured down heavily and kept pouring. All that could be done was to wait for the rain to stop. The wait was long and boring but to no effect. Eventually, the match had to be called off and as per the laws of the game, both teams shared the trophy and cash prize of 30 lakhs (15 lakhs each).
The closing ceremony brought some excitement in a dull final as Mr. Arun Kumar Aryal, fomer Nepal National Cricket Team coach, was honored with certification and Rs. 25,000 cash for his marathon contribution to Nepal Cricket.
Sagar Pun of Tribhuwan Army Club was declared man of the series and received cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000. Sagar Pun showed that he is not just a fine cricketer but also a good human being, by deciding to donate 25% of this cash prize to an old age home. His teammate Sushan Bhari won the best bowler of the tournament award and cash prize of Rs. 50,000. Western Development Region’s Saurav Khanal was adjudged best batsman while teammate Bipin Khatri bagged the emerging player award.
