In the ongoing ACC Men’s T20 International Challenger Cup in Thailand, Bhutan lost its opening group match to Indonesia by 16 runs. Bhutanese bowlers did a decent job of restricting Indonesia to 132 runs. However, despite gallant efforts by Captain Thinley Jamtsho and Suprit Pradhan, Bhutan fell short of the target.
Bhutan opted to bowl first after winning the toss and it took until the sixth over to take the first wicket. Suprit Pradhan trapped the Indonesian opener, Agush Priandana, leg before.
The Indonesian batters kept the scoreboard ticking and made Bhutanese bowlers earn their wickets.
Tenzin Wangchuk was the pick of the Bhutanese bowlers, who managed to pick up three wickets in his four-over spell.
Indonesia scored 132 runs in their allotted 20 overs losing seven wickets in the process. In reply, Bhutan came out slow in the powerplay, scoring just 24 runs in the first six overs.
Bhutan’s Suprit Pradhan upped the scoring rate by hitting some boundaries but he too was caught out for 28 runs.
Captain Thinley Jamtsho came to the crease and started hitting Indonesian bowlers all over the ground giving Bhutan hopes of a win. However, his dismissal in the 17th over after scoring a quick-fire 23 runs dented Bhutan’s hope to win the opening match.
In the end, Indonesia managed to bowl Bhutan out for 116 runs, 16 short of the intended target.
After that match, Captain Thinley Jamtsho said that a slow scoring rate in the powerplay overs cost Bhutan the match.
“In the powerplay, we did not bat well. We should have kept the run rates high. That is where we lost the game, I think,” said Thinley Jamtsho, Captain, Bhutan.
Bhutan will look to bounce back and keep hopes of a semifinal alive when they take on Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Sherub Dorji
