Bara District claim Nepal's 1999 Jai Trophy
Tony Munro - 6 March 1999

Bara District, spearheaded by fine bowling from Pawan Agrawal, has taken out the 15th Nepal National Cricket inter-district tournament for Jai Trophy, defeating Dhanusa District by 30 runs in last month's final. Bara District scored 138 in 39.4 overs before Agrawal helped limit Dhanusa District to 108 in the 16-team event confined to Nepalese nationals.

Agrawal's team-mate, Binod Das, won the bowler-of-the-tournament award with 17 wickets, including a hat-trick. Morang District all-rounder, Unil Shrestha, snared the Most Valuable Player award with scores of 44 and 56, as well as nine wickets and two run-outs.

Meanwhile, Nepalese cricket has received a huge boost, with the government agreeing to provide free land to the Cricket Association of Nepal to build its own 20,000-30,000 seat stadium.

There was no designated cricket stadium in Nepal prior to 1998, when the former football stadium at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University was upgraded for the ACC Trophy, which was televised to 56 countries.

Nepalese cricket originated in 1928, with the C.A. of Nepal being formed in 1946. Cricket is now played in 12 of the 14 zones. It is played from October to June, when the monsoon season starts.