Sudurpaschim Province has claimed the Naresh Shrestha Memorial U-19 ODI Cricket Championship title, defeating Lumbini Province by 8 runs in a thrilling final held at Girija Prasad Koirala Ground, Morang, Biratnagar.
Chasing a target of 128, Lumbini was bowled out for 119 in 43.1 overs. Captain Akash Tripathi led Lumbini’s efforts with 22 runs, followed by Shiv Kunwar with 20, Bijay Kohar with 19, Sameer Ali Musalman with 18, and Santosh Yadav with 12.
Sudurpaschim’s captain, Hemant Dhami, took 4 wickets, while Sachin Bhatt and Naren Saud took 2 each, and Ashok Dhami claimed 1 wicket.
In their batting innings, Sudurpaschim’s top scorers were Abhishek Thapa with 29 and Naren Bhatta with 27. Naren Saud contributed 15, Rajesh Ayer 14, Deepak Rokaya 11, Ashok Dhami 8, and Hemant Dhami 6 runs.
For Lumbini, Santosh Yadav took 5 wickets, Ramesh Kurmi claimed 3, and Shiv Kunwar took 1.
This victory marks Sudurpaschim’s second consecutive title win, as they also defeated Lumbini to secure the championship in the previous season.
Santosh Yadav from Lumbini Province was named Player of the Series for his exceptional performance, taking 27 wickets and scoring 181 runs across 7 matches. He also received the Best Bowler award. Sonu Ansari from Koshi Province was awarded Best Batsman for scoring 209 runs in 6 matches.
