Tribhuvan Army Club and Nepal Police Club are competing for the title of Jai Trophy Elite Cup two-day cricket tournament. The finals to be played at the Narayani Stadium in Birgunj will be a three-day format, a first for Nepal.
The league stage matches of the four-team tournament were played in a two-day format. However, the final will be a three-day event. The round robin matches of the tournament were played in Janakpur and Birganj. Police and Army faced each other in the first match of the tournament at Birganj.
There was no clear result in the match between these two teams in two days. But in Nepali cricket, as the three-day format is very long, it is expected that there will be win-loss results. Army's Shahab Alam took 10 wickets 2 times in 2 out of 3 matches, out of which he took 8 wickets for 59 runs in the match with Police. It was the best bowling performance ever in domestic cricket.
Shahab has taken 21 wickets in 3 matches. Following him, Lalit Rajwanshi of Police has taken 19 wickets in 3 matches. Lalit took 4 wickets with 47 runs in the match against Army. There is a strong possibility that these two left-handed spinners will dominate in the finals that will start on Tuesday at the wicket of Veerganj, which has been supporting the spin bowling. The four teams participating in the
competition played 3-3 matches. Police won two out of the three matches they played and one match ended in a draw. Police scored 66 points in three games and took the first place. Army won only one of the three matches and two matches were tied. Army was second with 55 points.
Bagmati and Madhesh Pradesh failed to win even one of their three matches. Madhesh had to face two defeats and only one match ended in a draw. Similarly, Bagmati tied two matches and had to face defeat in one match. Bagmati got 41.5 points and Madhesh got 31 points.
In the second match, Police defeated Madhesh Pradesh by one innings and 35 runs and in the last match, they defeated Bagmati by 5 wickets. Army had a tough time winning against Bagmati in the second game. The match also ended in a draw. In the last match, Army defeated Madhesh by 8 wickets and made the final journey. Toss's role in the
finale could also be important. As the pitch is wet in the morning during winter, the team winning the toss is more likely to choose to field first. Police's batting has been seen as a strong side. Spinners dominate the tournament. Along with Army's Shahab, Bashir Ahmed has shown good spin bowling. Along with Lalit, Kushal Bhurtel has taken over the spin front.
Kushal took over the captaincy of the police during the victory against Bagmati. Local hero Arif Sheikh, who is on 'rest' against Bagmati, is likely to take over the captaincy of the police.
