BHUTAN MAKE IT TO THE FINAL
"It was always our goal to reach the final of the tournament," said Bhutan's coach Damber Singh Gurung after his team beat Maldives by seven wickets in the semi-final at the Bangkok Polo Club.
"Our ultimate goal is to win the ACC Challenge. That's what we came here to do," he added.
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| Ahmed Mauroof of the Maldives is bowled by Bhutan's Dilip Subba |
Bolstered by the arrival of their regular wicket-keeper and two others the day before, all front-line batsmen, Bhutan went into the semi-final in a confident mood. Maldives would have had to have been at their absolute best if they were going to seriously compete with Bhutan.
The Maldive openers Shameen and Rishwan, as they have throughout the tournament, started well, keeping the ball down and pushing singles into the gaps. Bhutan's opening bowler Dorji, was Dorji, and wide after wide flowed from his hands. He's bowled close to 30 this tournament so far. He finds plenty of outswing whenever he pitches outside off but when he compensates by pitching on leg, he finds none. "He's a strike-bowler so we just need him to get a wicket or two at the start, before our spinners come on." He didn't this time but Maldives's first wicket was gifted to Bhutan by some appalling running by Rishwan. He drove through cover and set off for two, to be run out by a foot. And his first run was also called short by the bowler's end umpire.
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| Bhutan's Tapas Biarly reaches out for a catch. Umpire A.K. Rana of Thailand looks on |
Dilip Subba – dubbed 'The Dancing Bowler' by those who saw him in Chiang Mai because of his bouncy run-up – bowled with great control to pin down the Maldives top-order. Bhutan fielded very well too, they go through extensive drills in their warm-ups and practises and the results are clear to see. Only three fours were struck by Maldives throughout their innings. They were all out for 57, Susil Sharma taking 4-11 with his darting off-spin.
Polo Bangkok is a slow wicket and Bhutan's batsmen didn't find it any easier to play their shots either. Sanjeev Gurun was caught by mid-on off a leading edge and Susil Sharma fell to an excellent caught and bowed by Ahmed Mauroof, low down to his right. Left-armer Mauroof charged in hard and deserved his two wickets. His partner from the other end Hassan Zareer impressed with his slow in-dippers too, just rolling in and getting the ball to drift in late and dip sharply. If he could get a bit more zip perhaps from a stronger body-action, he could really be a force for the Maldives in the years to come.
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| Maldives' Ahmed Mauroof catches Bhutan's Sushil Sharma |
Bhutan were 9 for 2 at this stage. "We need just one more wicket," said Maldives's coach Imad. That wicket being Jigme Singye's. Jigme wasn't finding it easy on this wicket either, he mistimed a couple of drives which could have gone to hand. At the other end though, Kencho Norbu held firm and played very soundly, striking the ball sweetly square of the wicket. Maldives tried different bowlers, kept attacking fields but they couldn't get Jigme or Norbu. Jigme fell trying to hit a six to win, Rishwan taking a good catch off a skier but by then Bhutan were definitely on their way to the final.
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| Bhutan's Kencho Norbu ties the scores |
They meet a strong Qatar side there in what people are expecting will be a cracker of a final.
Semi-Final 1: Bhutan v Maldives at RBSC Polo, Bangkok
Maldives won the toss and chose to bat
Maldives: 57 off 23.3 overs (S. Sharma 4-11)
Bhutan: 58 for 3 off 8 overs
Man of the Match: Susil Sharma (Bhutan)
Scorecard
Pictures courtesy of Imad Ismail
Filed December 15 2007
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