KUALA LUMPUR : The Thailand boys cricket team rounded off an enjoyable week at the ACC U-16 Elite Cup in Malaysia with an eight-wicket victory over Bahrain yesterday.
Members of the Thailand team celebrate their eight-wicket victory over Bahrain.
The team finished in fifth place in the tournament which does scant justice to their performances throughout the event as they won three of their four matches and lost to Oman by just two wickets. They missed out on a place in the semi-finals on run-rate alone before signing off on a high note with their best all-round display against Bahrain.
Playing at Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat but were in trouble from the start as Kittanu Saeku took a wicket in the first over. He soon followed up with two more while fellow opening bowler Nikom Mayer matched him with three wickets of his own.
Bahrain were 37 for six inside 10 overs but captain Lalaith Lal led a revival as he hit 24 before their last four wickets fell for just three runs.
Siddant Anand became the third bowler to claim three wickets as Thailand gave another outstanding performance in the field to dismiss their opponents for just 71 in 20.5 overs.
The Thais had found batting a harder proposition than bowling thus far in the competition but the quality of the ground they were playing on clearly inspired the openers, Thichakorn Chalasri and Premsak Suttisamran, who shared a partnership of 32.
But it was left to wicket-keeper Bunchuai Sombatraksa to seal victory as he made an unbeaten 23 from 27 balls with five boundaries as Thailand won by eight wickets with more than half over their overs left unused.
The victory was a well-deserved finale for a young team who have worked so hard over recent months, and their record of three wins in four matches will be bettered only by the winners of the tournament.
The value of preparation and dedication has been clearly demonstrated and the performances of the team have shown that there can be a bright future for cricket in Thailand in the coming years. These talented 16-year-olds will be seen again playing in under-19 tournaments and for the senior Thailand side who feature in another competition at the end of the year.