In the Jaykumar Nath Shah Memorial U-16 Inter-School Cricket Tournament, DAV and Sainik Awasiya College have secured their places in the semifinals. In the first quarterfinal match, DAV defeated KMC School by 94 runs, with Kunjann Acharya taking 6 wickets. In another match, Sainik Awasiya edged past API School by 1 wicket to advance to the semifinals. Kathmandu, 23 Jestha.
Organized by the Kathmandu District Cricket Association, the third edition of the Asian E-Learning ‘Jaykumar Nath Shah Memorial’ U-16 Inter-School Cricket Tournament saw DAV Sushil Kedia Bishwabharti School and Sainik Awasiya College progress to the semifinal stage. On Saturday, at the Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground, DAV secured their semifinal spot by beating KMC School by 94 runs in the first quarterfinal.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, DAV posted 157 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Arush Jha was the top scorer with 59 runs off 46 balls, including 6 fours and 1 six. Kamal Shahi contributed 41 runs, and Prasiddha Jaishi added 26 runs from 18 balls. For KMC, Srijal Bhatt took 2 wickets and Amit Kumar Das claimed 1 wicket. Chasing 158, KMC was bowled out for 63 runs in 13.2 overs. Amit Kumar Das scored 15 and Bidhan Sapkota 11 runs, but the team fell short of victory.
DAV’s Kunjann Acharya delivered an outstanding bowling performance, taking 6 wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs. Keshav Agrawal, Tanish Shah, Prasiddha Jaishi, and Kamal Shahi each claimed one wicket. Kunjann Acharya was named ‘Pick Point Player of the Match.’ In the second quarterfinal played the same day, Sainik Awasiya College defeated API School by 1 wicket to book their place in the semifinals. API, winning the toss and batting first, was all out for 83 runs in 19.2 overs.
API’s Yugant Karki top-scored with 34 runs, while Kusum Prasail contributed 12 runs. For Sainik Awasiya, Abhash KC took 3 wickets and Safal Paudel took 2 wickets. Chasing the target of 84, Sainik Awasiya reached it in a thrilling finish by scoring 84 runs for 9 wickets in 19.5 overs. Sushant Nepal scored 24, and Abhash KC remained unbeaten with 20 runs. In the final moments, Shubhav Bista remained not out with 9 runs from 3 balls to secure an exciting victory. API’s Akendra Budha took 3 wickets and Srijal Karki 2 wickets. Abhash KC was declared ‘Pick Point Player of the Match.’
DAV will face the winner of the match between Mokshada School and James School in the semifinal on Monday. Similarly, Sainik Awasiya will play against the winner of the Nepal Police School and Ratnrajya Secondary School match. The tournament, featuring 24 teams, will run until 26 Jestha. The champion will receive a prize of NPR 150,000, while the runner-up will be awarded NPR 75,000.
