DAY 1 – NEPAL AND SINGAPORE IMPRESS ON OPENING DAY

The ACC U16 Eastern Region competittion got underway in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Saturday and it was the two teams who reached the final in the previous edition of the tournament held in Thailand in 2017 that impressed on the first day of the 2019 version.

Defending champions Nepal  beat Myanmar by seven wickets at the David Buck Oval at Prem International School after bowling out the opposition for just 58, but the team they beat in the final last time did even better Mai Golf Course as Singapore dismissed Butan for 47 and knocked off the runs without losing a wicket in just 6.2 overs.

These were both very one-sided matches as the two strongest teams clinically disposed of two of the weakest teams in the tournament. Nepal’s captain Bikram KC took 4 wickets for 21 but Myanmar showed their inexperience as they suffered four run outs as they survived for only 13.2 overs but at least Myanmar made Nepal fight for the runs as Kaung Htet Kyaw took two wickets and Zin Myo Ko Ko one, Singapore were even more convincing winners  as Jeevan Santhanam took 5 for 11 in just 3 overs as Bhutan managed only 47 runs in 14 overs as he wrapped up the innings with the last five wickets falling for just five runs. Singapore’s openers reached their target in just 6.2 overs as the two highest ranked teams in the tournament both gained emphatic victories.

The tournament continues on Sunday with two matches that should be more evenly contested with Thailand facting Malaysia and China playing Hong Kong