Dang and Banke will face each other in the finals of the Prime Minister Cup Lumbini provincial women's selection T-20 cricket tournament.

Banke defeated Rupandehi by 9 runs and Dang defeated Nawalparasi by 79 runs on the fourth day of the tournament organized by the Lumbini Pradesh Cricket Association at Deukhuri International Cricket Stadium in Lamhi. 

In the first semi-final held on Sunday, after chasing the winning target of 124 runs given by Banke, Rupandehi was reduced to 114 runs and Banke reached the final by winning by 9 runs. Banke, who won the toss and batted first, scored 123 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. While opener Ranju Shrestha scored 44 runs for Banke, Sushmita Bajgai scored 23 runs, Manisha Rana scored 18 runs and Shrishti Dangi scored 11 runs.

In the fourth ball of the first over, after Banke's security got out again, Rupandehi tried to keep the game under pressure, but Sushmita Bajgai managed to get Banke up by scoring runs. In bowling, Seema Thapa of Rupandehi took 3 wickets by spending 25 runs in 4 overs. Kavita Khadka took 2 wickets for 10 runs in 3 overs while Saru Tiwari and Angela Pathak took 1 wicket each.

With a winning target of 124 runs, Roopandehi's team came into batting response and ended up with 114 runs in the scheduled 20 overs. Angela Pathak scored 40 runs for Rupandehi. Kriti Adhikari scored 14 runs, Shruti Budhathoki and Kavita Khadka contributed 11 runs each, but they could not avoid defeat.

Banke's safety Pun and Sarjan Khadka took 2 wickets each by spending 22 and 21 runs in the same 4 overs to defeat Rupandehi. Jakan Pun and Swastika Bajgai took 1 wicket each. Opener Ranju Shrestha, who scored the highest 44 runs for Banke, was the player of the match.

Likewise, in the second semi-final, Dang defeated Nawalparasi by 79 runs. Dang, who won the toss and batted first, got off to a good start and made a total of 160 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Anita Chaudhary and Supriya Budha got off to a brisk start with a partnership of 74 runs for the first wicket. After

opener Supriya Budha was run out scoring 17 runs, Anita and Madhu DC shared another 16 runs for the second wicket. After getting bowled out by Krishna Khanal, Madhu returned to the pavilion with 1 run, captain Saraswati GM and Anita played steadily and added a good total for the team. Both of them scored 160 runs by sharing 70 runs. In which Anita Chaudhary played an experienced innings and scored 59 unbeaten runs while captain Saraswati also scored 29 unbeaten runs. Apart from Krishna Khanal taking 1 wicket for Nawalparasi, other players could not show impact in bowling.

Chasing the winning target of 161 runs, Nawalparasi was bowled out for 81 runs in 15.4 overs. For Navalparasi, Sakshi Pandey scored 12 runs, Sakshi Bhandari scored 11 runs, and Sarita Shahi scored 10 runs. Dang's Anita Chaudhary performed an all-rounder to wrap up Navalparasi cheaply.

Anita, who scored 59 runs unbeaten with the bat, took 3 wickets by giving away 4 runs in 2 overs. Madhu DC spent 10 runs in 3 overs  While taking 3 wickets, Ashna Chaudhary and Samishka KC also took 2 wickets each. Anita Chaudhary, who performed an all-rounder to help the team win, became the player of the match.

Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Bardia who are in group 'A' have been eliminated in the selection competition which was divided into two groups. Now Dang and Banke in Group B will compete for the title on Monday morning  . Dang is an undefeated team. Banke had earlier lost to Dang by 5 wickets in the group stage match.

Secretary of Lumbini State Cricket Association Kailash Roka Magar informed that the provincial team will be prepared for the Prime Minister's Cup from the selection tournament which started from 25th of January with the participation of 6 districts of Lumbini. The Prime Minister's Cup Women's T20 Cricket Tournament will be held at the Phapla Cricket Ground in Dhangadhi from January 1. Eight teams including seven provinces and one departmental team APF will compete in the competition. All 8 teams will play against each other in the tournament and the top four teams in the points table will qualify for the playoffs. In which the top two teams will play the first qualifier. The winning team will go directly to the finals.