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
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.
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.
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.
Knights beat Warriors by 7 wickets
Thimphu Knights consolidated their top four spot in the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash 2022 defeating True Warrior’s by 7 wickets today at Jigmethang cricket ground, Thimphu. Knight’s opening pacer Barun Wakhley got the best of True Warrior’s opening batsman Soenam Jamtsho bowling him out for a duck with eight on the scorecard. Knight’s speedster Dawa trapped Warrior’s key batsman Kinga Loday for a leg before wicket (LBW) of his first bowl as Knights bagged their second. Sanjay Pradhan (23 off 22) and Manish (15 off 14) showed some resistance as they put on 32 runs partnership for the third wicket before Manish was bowled by Dawa for his second and Knights third wicket. Warrior’s all-rounder Kezang Nima failed to take the score ahead as he was bowled by Karma Dorji in the fourth over. Tarun Kumar fired quick 20 runs off 12 balls before Sanjog Chhetri came up with a brilliant stumping off Suman Pradhan’s bowling. On the other side Knight’s most experienced off-spinner gave nothing loose for the Warrior batsmen ending his spell of four overs giving just 12 runs and picking two wickets. Suman Pradhan picked up Warrior’s skipper Prashan Chhetri bowling him for his third wicket. Warrior’s tailender Yueyong Phuntsho accelerated the score with some big blows towards the end scoring 24 off 12 balls as they lost all 10 wickets for 143 runs. Knight’s started slow scoring 32 off 30 balls before opener Tandin Wangchuk was trapped infront off Thukten Yoezers bowling. Knight’s lost their other opener Pasa Wangdi in a mis-led run out with 55 on the scoreboard. Suman Pradhan was bowled in the same over by Kezang Nima giving Knight’s some sort of worry as they required 88 off the last 10 overs. However, Knight’s wicket-keeper batsman Sanjog Chettri and Kencho Norbu did no mistake rotating the strike and hitting the occasional boundaries. Sanjog (46 off 31 balls) and Kencho (33 off 23) took Knights home to a comfortable seven wicket win. Suman Pradhan was declared the player of the match for the three wickets haul.
Paro Bluemoon end with a win
Paro Bluemoon CC defeated Dantak XI by 71 runs in their final match of the Bhutan T20 Smash 2022 to end the tournament on a high. Paro opener Tulsi Biswa and Chamling Rai gave their team the best start possible smacking for a tournament opening partnership of 101 in just 48 balls which also includes the highest run (75) in the powerplay. Tulsi Biswa was unstoppable hitting nine boundaries and three sixers for his 64 off 31 balls before a mix-up between the two openers got Tulsi run-out from a direct hit on the stumps by wicket-keeper William Rana. Chamling was bowled by Nirmal Kumar in the 12th over to give Dantak their second. Kishen Ghalley played the anchoring job for his well accumulated 37 off 26 balls before he was caught by Shrikant Hanamant off Yespal Singh’s bowling. Sanjit Biswa added 26 runs from 22 balls as Paro Bluemoon compiled a mammoth 205 target for Dantak XI. It was always going to be a huge task for the Dantak XI but with a good attacking batting line-up it would seem possible. A lot depended on how Pawan Mehta started the innings however, Pawan Mehta was dismissed in the fifth over by skipper Nabin Chettri to turn the chair towards Paro Bluemoon. Rakesh Dhiman lasted only a ball as he was bowled off the first ball in the next over. Wickets kept falling from one side of the wicket as Dantak XI saw themselves lose seven wickets with 90 runs on the scoresheet. Paro was all over Dantak before Pawan Kumar was bowled for a well- played 47 runs off 45 balls to hand Paro a consolation win. Tulsi Biswa and adjourned the man of the match for his blistering knock with the bat.
Knights win a thriller against Wangdue
Thimphu Knights escaped yet another scare as they went on to beat Wangdue Radaps by two runs in the afternoon match of the ongoing Bhutan T20 Smash 2022. Knights skipper Tandin Wangchuk elected to bat first against a decent bowling side of Wangdue Radaps. However, the batting plan back fired as Knights lost opener Sanjog Chhetri in the second over and it was Radap’s top wicket taker Kencho Chophel. Kencho Chophel went on to get rid of skipper Tandin Wangchuk caught by Pema Loday the next ball as Knights were pushed to a state of bother. Wickets kept falling on one side where Tashi Tshering (33 of 33 balls) on the other side was the only batsman who seemed comfortable inside. Tashi was ultimately bowled out trying to increase the run rate before they were bundled up for 118 with five overs remaining. Barun Wakhley (15 of 8 balls) and Karma Dorji (15 of 10 balls) were the other notable contributors. Thimphu Knight’s speedster Barun started brilliantly bowling out Wangdue Radap’s main batsman Ram Chandra Mongar in the second over. Barun took only two more deliveries to claim his second wicket in the form of Tsheltrim Yoezer caught by wicket-keeper Sanjog. Thimphu Knight’s Dawa went on to pick Jigme Tenzin caught by Suman Pradhan to give Knight’s their third wicket in the third over. The next stand of Deki Phuntsho and Pema Dorji added 27 runs before skipper Tandin trapped Deki LBW. Radap’s opender Pema Dorji looked good for his 23 before he was run-out in the ninth over. Wangdue Radap’s kept losing wickets at a regular interval, however, Radap’c managed to pick up some important runs and occasional boundaries in between. Sangay Tenzin (18 of 27 balls) and Pema Loday (20 of 15 balls) started to threaten the Knights before Pema Loday was bowled by Kinley Penjor. At the end of 19 over Wangdue needed only 15 runs to win as Tashi Tshering was given the responsibility to bowl the final over. Sangay and Neten Dorji pushed the Knight’s double runs of the first two balls. Neten Dorji smartly placed the next ball towards deep cover for a boundary as the Radap’s needed three runs of the last ball which the batsman failed giving Knights their second win from three games. Barun Wakhley was declared the Player of the Match. With the win the Thimphu Knights are placed third on the points table.