THAILAND RESTRICT BAHRAIN AND GAIN A THRILLING VICTORY BY TWO WICKETS

THAILAND RESTRICT BAHRAIN AND GAIN A THRILLING VICTORY BY TWO WICKETS

Thailand were without Jandre Coetzee in their third match of the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B in Qatar but they gave an outstanding performance in the field as Bahrain could make only 102 for seven in their 20 overs as Nitish Salekar’s two early wickets reduced the opposition to 15 for 3 after three overs.

Fiaz Ahmed batted until the end of the innings for 39 and Haider Ali made 20 but Thailand’s bowling attack kept it tight with Nopphon Senamontree taking 1 for 8 in his 4 overs, Salekar finished with figures of 2 for 17 and Sorawat Desungnoen claimed 2 for 22 with his off-spin.

Thailand looked on course for victory for most of their chase even after losing a wicket to the second ball of their innings. Thai batsmen Chaioernwong Chatphaisan and Yodsak Saranonnakkon held firm with a second-wicket partnership of 41 and Austin Lazarus kept the chase going with Salekar but both were dismissed as Thailand approached their target.

Bahrain kept taking wickets through Sohail Ahmed and Ali Dawood but Chanchai Pengkumpta brought into the team for this match hit a crucial six in the 19^th over and kept his head but it was left to Senamontree to hit the winning run as Thailand won by two wickets with four balls to spare.

Thailand now stand in third place in the table with two wins out of three but they face leaders United Arab Emirates in their next match which will be another tough challenge. Thailand will be looking for their third win in a row over higher ranked opposition.