Presenting the winner of Bhutan T20 Smash 2022, True Warriors Cricket Club True Warriors beat Thimphu Knights by 3 wickets to win their maiden tournament.Congratulations
11th Board Meeting
The 11th Board Meeting of Bhutan Cricket was held on Friday (July 23) at Phuntsho Pelri Hotel, Thimphu.Chaired by the President, Thinley Wangchuk Dorji, the Board Members, CEO and head office staffs made their presence for the meeting.Various agendas like forming of various selection committees for the national teams, restructuring of domestic competitions, RAMA ground development plan and many other development plans were discussed.The President also suggested to create a fund raising called the ‘national team support fund’ that would benefit the national players and activities related to he national teams.Considering the importance of the coaches and future cricketers, coaches development programs including coaches cash incentives and identifying skilful coaches were also discussed.Further, cash incentives for international event representation were also discussed.
Thimphu Knights storm into the Finals
Thimphu Knights beat SKD All Stars by six wickets to book a place in the finals of the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash 2022. SKD All Stars and Thimphu Knights faced each other in the qualifier one match having ranked number one and two teams respectively after the completion of the league rounds and the winner by rule going directly to the finals. SKD All Stars had a dreadful start losing opener Tandin Penjor for a duck in the second over by Tandin Wangchuk. The other opener Khendrup Jangchub Dorji who was sent back to the pavilion as he was caught by Suprit Pradhan off Suman Pradhans bowling in the third over. SKD’s Jigme Wangchuk and Yowon Pradhan slowly started to build a partnership as the two added 44 for the third wicket before Jigme Wangchuk was run out from a lightning direct throw to the stumps by Suprit Pradhan. Suprit Pradhan followed up his fielding with wicket of Sherub Jamtsho in the next over as he was caught deep by Barun Wakhley. Yowon Pradhan on the other side was the lone batsman who made a valuable contribution of 43 runs off 28 balls before he was beaten by a “slow in air” ball bowled brilliantly by Suman Pradhan. Suprit Pradhan went on to pick his second wicket that of Sanjeevan Raj to give Knights their sixth wicket. It seemed like a comfortable score to chase down at this point for the Knight’s, before SKD All Stars skipper Jigme N Dorji walked in late to play a cameo of innings hitting 49 runs off just 21 balls which included seven boundaries and two sixers to give his team a respectable total of 157 runs. In the second innings, Thimphu Knights also had probably the worst start losing openers Tandin Wangchuk and Pasa Wangdi before the third over with only 14 runs on the scorecard. However, skipper Sanjog Chhetri and Suprit Pradhan had better intentions and execution as the two put up a team record of 113 runs partnership for the third wicket. Suprit Pradhan went on to score 71 runs off 32 balls (9x4s, 4x6s) before he was bowled in the 11th over by Jigdrel Wangchuk. Skipper Sanjog Chhetri scored valuable 35 runs off 26 balls before he was caught by Yowon Pradhan off Jigdrel Wangchuk in the 13th over. The damage was already done through the brilliant partnership before Suman Pradhan and Chirag Sharma did the ‘icing on the cake’ with 33 runs partnership with 14 balls left in the innings to give Knights an easy six wickets win and be the first team to reach the finals. The Knights will face the winner of qualifier two match which will be played between True Warriors and SKD All Stars this coming Saturday.
True Warriors thrash Gladiators by 77 runs
True Warriors sealed their spot in Qualifier 2 of the Bhutan T20 Smash 2022 with 77 runs win over Druk Gladiators today at the Jigmethang cricket ground, Thimphu. Namgay Thinley’s incredible four wicket haul and Ngawang Thinley’s all-round performance with both bat and bowl powered True Warriors to an easy 77 runs victory in a low scoring match Druk Gladiators chose to field after winning the toss and resulted in their favor as they got Kinga Loday out for a duck off the final ball in the first over by Deepak Verma caught by Sajibul Mai. Deepak Verma went on to get the second wicket off Namgay Thinley, trapping him LBW in the third over. Deepak Verma got rid of Kezang Nima for a duck as he was bowled out in the fifth over to claim his third wicket. True Warriors found themselves in a state of bother before Ngawang Thinley and Tarun Kumar added 41 runs for the fourth wicket partnership. The partnership was broken after Deepak Verma was brought back to bowl his final over and getting Tarun Kumar (21 off 29) and ending an impressive spell of 4 wickets and giving only 13 runs. Ngawang Thinley and skipper Prashant Chhetri started to pull back the innings for the team as the two added 46 runs partnership before Ngawang was caught by Sonam Dorji off Sahidul Islam’s bowl. Prashant Chhetri played a captain’s innings as he scored an unbeaten 40 off 30 balls taking the team total to 137. Druk Gladiator’s needed “run a ball” situation to take them forward and their openers did just that as Deepak Verma and Vijay Sagar Gundala scored 27 runs off the first three overs before losing Gundala, caught by Yueyong Phuntsho off Kinley Penjor’s bowling. ahidul Islam was trapped LBW by Namgay Thinley off his first bowl in the fourth over. Namgay Thinley went on to get his second wicket bowling out Gladiators skipper Deepak Verma in the seventh over. True Warrior bowlers were all over the Gladiator batsmen as non-of the batsmen managed to score in double digit as the team was all out for 60 runs in 12 overs. Namgay Thinley picked up four wickets whereas Kezang Nima picked 2 wickets and Ngawang got three wickets to thrash Gladiators by 77 runs. Namgay Thinley was declared the player of the match.
Words from President
Dantak XI thrash Thimphu Knights
Dantak XI thrashed Thimphu Knights in the final game of the league round by 101 runs in the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash held at Jigmethang cricket ground today. It was raining sixes at the Jigmethang cricket ground as Dantak XI smashed various records including the highest team total of 255 runs from 20 overs. It was Dantak’s opening batsman Pawan Mehta who went bizarre at the Knight’s bowlers hitting 20 monstrous sixers and nine boundaries for his 179 runs not out registering the highest individual score to his name. With the masterful performance Pawan Mehta now stands as the highest run getter in the tournament.Pawan Mehta and Pawan Dhiman put up 94 runs opening partnership in just 49 balls before Dhiman was caught by wicket-keeper Sanjog Chhetri bowled by Kinley Penjor. Knight’s spinner Suman Pradhan was the pick of the bowlers getting two wickets and giving away 35 runs in four overs. In the second innings, Knights started poorly losing half centurion from the previous game Tandin Wangchuk bowled by Lad Shrikant Hanamant in the second over. The Knights lost their second as Suraj was bowled by Pawan Mehta in the third over. Kinley Penjor and Shankar Basnet tried to take the innings forward putting up a 64 runs partnership for the third wicket before Kinley Penjor (34 off 32 balls) was bowled by Yespal Singh. Barun Wakhley was caught by Bhagat Singh off the first ball as Yespal picked up his second to give Dantak their fourth wicket. Chirag Sharma showed some resistance adding 19 runs off 16 balls before he was bowled by Lad Shrikant Hanamant for his second wicket. Knights eventually crumbled to 154 for the loss of eight wickets as Dantak won by a massive 101 runs. Dantak XI all-rounder Pawan Mehta was declared the player of the match.
True Warriors take the final spot
True Warrior cricket club beat the Wangdue Radaps convincingly by eight wickets today at Jigmethang cricket ground to consolidate the fourth spot of the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash 2022. Wangdue Radaps started poorly, losing Jigme Tenzin in the second over as he was bowled by Kezang Nima. Radaps lost their second as Ram Chandra Mongar was trapped infront LBW by Thukten Yoezer. Yeshi Wangdi was the second victim for Kezang Nima as he was also bowled out. Opening batsman Pema Dorji was the lone batsman who showed some resistance against the True Warriors bowlers as he started to collect some important runs for the team. Pema was well supported on the other end as Pema and Sangay Tenzin put together a 60 runs partnership for the next wicket. However, Sangay Tenzin lost his persistence and found his stumps “walk in the park” from a beauty from speedster, Yueyong Phuntsho. The long ranger Pema Dorji eventually brought up his maiden half century (70 off 68 balls) before Kezang Nima came back for his last over to bowl him out for his third wicket. Kezang Nima went on to get his fourth wicket as Deki Phuntsho’s valuable 24 runs off 21 balls came to an end. Wangdue Radap’s set a 155 runs target in their 20 overs. In the second innings, Wangdue Radap bowlers were taken aback by openers Kinga Loday and Manish as the two added 54 for the opening partnership before Manish was caught and bowled by Yeshi Wangdi. No other bowlers seemed to trouble the two batsmen as Kinga Loday and Tarun Kumar went on to add 93 runs partnership for the second wicket. Yeshi Wangdi was the only successful bowler as he came back to bowl out Tarun Kumar for his second wicket. Kinga Loday hit an unbeaten 76 off 53 balls to take his team to the top four who will now go on to play the Eliminator Round. Kezang Nima was declared the player of the match for his figure of 4/17 in four overs.
Thimphu Knights enter top two
Thimphu Knights defeated the Druk Gladiators by 40 runs to reach the top two spot of the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash 2022 held at Jigmethang cricket ground, Thimphu. Knight, having won the toss chose to bat first and started brilliantly by openers Tandin Wangchuk and Pasa Wangdi bringing up 87 runs for the opening partnership. Tandin Wangchuk (64 off 38 balls) went on to score his first half century of the tournament which included nine boundaries. It took Gladiators 10.3 overs before Deepak Verma gave the first break-through getting Tandin Wangchuk caught by Noor Alan. Deepak Verma went on to get Knight’s other opening batsman Pasa Wangdi after a well-constructed 30 off 34 balls. Wickets started to tumble after a great start as Knight’s lost their third wicket Kencho Norbu bowled by Saha Alom. Deepak Verma went on to take his third wicket as Suman Pradhan was found out of the crease and his wickets disturbed through a direct under-arm throw registering a stumping for wicket-keeper Vijay Sagar. Knight’s tailender and hard-hitter Barun played a cameo of an innings scoring 20 off seven balls. Thimphu Knight’s ended their innings at 150 for the loss of seven wickets giving Druk Gladiators 151 to chase. Thimphu Knights youngster Kinley Penjor gave the start they needed picking up Gladiators main man Saha Alom caught by Barun Wakhley at mid-on. Kinley Penjor picked up his second when he came back for his second over to bowl out Somvir Yadav. Knight’s speedster Dawa got his first wicket bowling out Ashwani Tiwari in his third over as Gladiators kept losing wickets at a regular interval. Knight’s went on to get their fourth wicket of pricy batsman Sajibul Mai as he was stumped by Sanjog from behind. Noor Alan was bowled first ball off Tandin Wangchuk’s first ball as Gladiators lost half their side for just 33 runs. Skipper Deepak Verman was dismissed LBW in the next over by Suman Pradhan for his second. Sahidul Islam’s cameo of 30 runs off 18 balls came to an end as he was bowled by Kinley Penjor who was brought back for his third over. Tandin Wangchuk went on to get his second wicket that of Bappa Mia completing his quota of four overs giving just 13 runs. Kencho Norbu wrote his name on the wicket list as well, getting Sherub Gyeltshen caught and bowled to wrap up Druk Gladiators innings for 110, hence, losing by 40 runs. Tandin Wangchuk was adjudged the player of the match for his all-round performance.
Bhutan beat Thailand by six wickets
Bhutan beat Thailand by six wickets just now at the ongoing Quadrangular Series in Malaysia.
Bhutan beat Maldives by six runs
In what was one of the best matches between two associate members in the words of the commentators, Bhutan defeated Maldives by six runs to register their first win of the ongoing quadrangular series yesterday at the YSD-UKM Oval, Malaysia. With the win over Maldives, Bhutan also created history as they registered their first international T20 win. Bhutan will look to continue the momentum as they take on Thailand in the next match and a win against Thailand will keep Bhutan’s hope alive for the finals. Having started poorly losing by 155 runs to host Malaysia in the opening match of the tournament, Bhutan came close to overcoming Malaysia in the second match-up, however, losing by 39 runs. Bhutan was on the verge of reaching the historic feet earlier as the tournament favorite Malaysia were put in a rabbit hole situation in their second match-up. Bhutan was all-over Malaysia picking up eight wickets for just 51 runs after 10 overs. The host however, managed to extricate themselves through their bowling effort and beat Bhutan by 39 runs to take 2-0 lead. Speaking to Bhutan Cricket in-house media, team Captain Jigme Singye expressed his joy and excitement for the win and how the team is feeling in the dugout. “We should have won against Malaysia earlier as well, however, the boys are coming back stronger with every match,” he said. “The younger players are stepping up which is a great sign for Bhutan cricket and the future of Bhutan cricket,” he added. Namgay Thinley was adjudged the player of the match for his outstanding display with both bat and bowl. Bhutan takes on Thailand tomorrow in the morning match at the same venue.