Shankar Rana century and a record opening stand guide Police home against Bagmati

By Cricketing Country | Posted Posted Mar 26, 2026

Nepal Police Club registered their second win in the ongoing Men’s PM Cup with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Bagmati at Upper Mulpani.

Chasing 266, Police completed the chase in 44 overs, powered by a record 159-run opening stand between Shankar Rana and Dinesh Kharel — the highest opening partnership in Men’s PM Cup history, surpassing the previous 150-run stand by Pradip Airee and Asif Sheikh.

Earlier, Bagmati posted 265 in 49.2 overs after opting to bat. Pawan Thapa led the scoring with 79 off 101 balls, striking a six and six boundaries. Ishan Pandey provided strong support, scoring 70 off 80 deliveries, including three sixes and six fours.

The pair added 124 runs for a key partnership before Bagmati lost momentum with a lower-order collapse. Uttam Magar chipped in with 21 to push the total to a competitive score.

For Police, Dinesh Kharel starred with the ball as well, returning 3/14, while Rashid Khan picked up 3/54 in his nine overs. Karan KC (2/52) and Lalit Rajbanshi (1/47) also contributed to the wickets column.

In reply, Shankar Rana anchored the chase with a superb 116 off 128 balls, striking four sixes and 13 boundaries before falling lbw to Rijan Dhakal. Dinesh Kharel continued his excellent run with a 70 off 75 balls, including three sixes and eight boundaries, registering his second successive fifty in the tournament.

Captain Aarif Sheikh then finished the chase with an unbeaten 43, guiding Police to their highest successful chase in the competition.

For Bagmati, Sandeep Lamichhane, Subash Khatri and Rijan Dhakal picked up a wicket each, but the total proved insufficient against Police’s dominant top-order display.