Bhutan lost to china by 69 runs, to Singapore by seven wickets, and to Malaysia by 171 runs

Bhutan’s U-16 cricket team is out of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) eastern region tournament, that is being held at Thailand after losing three consecutive matches in the group stage to China, Singapore and Malaysia.

In the final group stage match yesterday, Bhutan suffered a bitter farewell from Malaysia. The team won the toss and elected to bat. Malaysia secured 222 runs after batting all 35 overs in the end of first innings. Bhutan was chasing a huge run in the second innings, it could play only 21.1 overs with all wickets down at 51 runs. Bhutan lost to Malaysia by 171 runs.

Bhutan had a difficult start when it lost to China with 69 runs in the first match. The team faced Singapore on the second day of the tournament on December 12 and suffered another defeat by seven wickets.

While playing against China on an opening day at Royal Chiangmai Golf Club, Bhutan had to field first as the former elected to bat after winning the toss. China secured 119 runs at the end of first innings. Bhutan had to chase a target of 120 runs to win. However, the team could complete 72 percent of the total 35 overs in the end of second innings and registered 58 runs with all wickets falling out at the end of 25 overs.

Coach Kencho Norbu said that the result was humiliating. “We lost a match which was in our hand.”

However, skipper Tshering Penjor won a consolation for the team after he successfully brought down four wickets with 20 balls.

Bhutan played Singapore in the second match. After winning the toss, Singapore opted to field first. In the end of the first innings, Bhutan secured 66 runs in as many overs. Singapore required 67 runs to win the match.

However, in the end of second innings, Singapore secured 67 runs in 10.1 overs. It needed only three wickets to seal the deal.

Kencho Norbu said that the team played as expected. “The score does not matter for us, playing 35 overs is the target every time. We achieved our target today as we could play all 35 overs.”

The team had a five-day acclimatisation training session at Bangkok before heading for the tournament on December 10.

Nima

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