Khumbutse Khukuri win inaugural Himalayan Cup Cricket Tournament in USA

Khumbutse Khukuri Club with their title pose with Sushil Nadkarni (Red Shirt) captain of USA National Cricket Team

Khumbutse Khukuri Club lifted the title in the First Himalayan Cup Cricket Tournament held at Houston, Texas, USA.

Winning the toss, Khumbutse Khukuri decided to field first and invited Annapurna Avalanche to bat first, who scored 73 runs, losing 6 wickets in 12 overs. Chasing the target of 74 runs to lift the title, Khumbutse Khukuri overhauled the target in 8.2 overs to win the first Himalayan Cup Cricket tournament organized in Houston, Texas, USA.

Earlier in the semifinals, Khumbutse Khukuri defeated Makalu United Nepal and Annapurna Avalanche defeated Dhaulagri Dear Runners to enter the final of the tournament.

The four-day event was organized by Nepalese Association of Houston (NAH) and coordinated by Rupak Rauniar and Binay Gupta. The tournament featured seven Nepali cricket clubs based in the greater Houston of Texas, USA. Each team consisted of eight players and the qualifying rounds were played in eight overs. The semifinals and finals were played in 12 overs. Group A consisted of Makalu United Nepal, Everest H-town Warriors, Kanchenjunga Knights, and Annapurna Avalanche while Group B consisted of Dhaulagiri Dead Runners, Cho Oyu CNS, and Khumbutse Khukuri.

The tournament was held in Staffod Park, home of Houston Cricket League (HCL) and the matches were refereed by Mr. Devon Small, a professional cricket umpire of the Houston Cricket League.

NAH President Madhukar Amatya and Mr. Sushil Nadkarni, captain of USA National Cricket Team gave away the trophies, certificates and medals to the winners.

Janam Bhaukajee of Makalu United Nepal was named Man of the Series of the tournament.

According to NAH President, Madhukar Amatya, "Organizing this cricket tournament, which has become as popular as soccer among Nepalese people in Houston was another success for us made possible by collective effort of NAH officials, community members, and over 75 Nepali cricket players in Houston". He further noted that the entire tournament went without any unfortunate incident and thanked all the participants and organizing committee members for following sportsmanship during the event. According to Rupak Rauniar, the chair of the Cricket Committee, the overwhelming support and enthusiasm received for Cricket in Houston by the Nepalese community is very promising. "We plan to organized more Cricket events in Houston area in the future and make it more competitive", he added