 |
| Kathmandu, Friday March 07, 2003 Falgun 23, 2059. |
|
Maldives humble Bhutan in
opener
Post Report
KATHMANDU, March 6 : The triangular Emerging
Nations Tournament started Thursday at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground with
Maldives recording an emphatic 9-wicket win over new entrants Bhutan.
Bhutan, who were sent into bat, folded up after
making just 62 runs in 28.5 overs and Maldives reached the target in 11.2 overs losing
just one wicket of Abdulla Shafeell to win the match convincingly.
Bhutan, who received ICC affiliate membership
last year, had a tough time against relatively experienced Maldives, which is considered
second favorites of the tournament after host Nepal. None of Bhutan batsmen stayed longer
at the crease and all of them failed to reach double figure mark.
"Bhutan is a newcomer in international
cricket so it was not the real test for our players," said Maldives national coach
Faiz Samad to The Kathmandu Post. Samad also stressed that his batsmen did not get chance
to tune their batting as they won the match by nine wickets.
"What worry me is our bowling since we
conceded 26 extras in 28 overs," added Samad who is looking forward to Friday’s
match against host Nepal.
Maldives won the toss and put Bhutan to bat
first. Maldives pace-attack unsettled the Bhutanese in the beginning but Bhutan somehow
managed to take the score to 29-2 in 10 overs. Maldives medium pacers Ismail Nadeem and
Ismail Nihad accounted for Bhutan opening batsmen Tshering Dorji and Tshering Tashi.
Bhutan lost their three wickets in the space of
nine deliveries without scoring a run. Rest of their batting also failed to click as they
were bundled out for mere 62 runs in 28.5 overs. Bikash Sharma was the only Bhutanese
batsman to score boundary in their match.
Ahmed Neesham Nazir was the pick of Maldives
bowler as he claimed three wickets in his four-over spell conceding five runs. Nazir was
adjudged man of the match for picking up three vital wickets. Mohamed Mahafooz gave away
17 runs in 5.5 overs notching two wickets. Apart from Nadeem and Nihad, Abdullah Sahid and
Ibrahim Shaaz Habeeb each claimed a wicket.
Chasing a small target, Maldives lost just a
wicket of Abdulla Shafeell but it was too late as the first wicket fell when Maldives
batsmen had already added 41 runs in six overs. Dambar Singh Gurung was the first
Bhutanese to claim wicket in an international match after Shafeell lofted a simple catch
to Tandin Wangchuk. Ahmed Hussain topscored with unbeaten 27 runs including three fours.
Mossa Kalim also remained unbeaten at 10 off just 13 balls.
Nepal will play its first match against
Thursday’s winner Maldives on Friday at the same ground.
Other Story
|
