Cairns Bhutanese side claims third title
CAIRNS Bhutanese Cricket Club can call themselves hattrick heroes after defeating Adelaide Blues in the Bhutanese National Cricket League final to claim their third straight trophy at the annual tournament.
Cairns won the toss and elected to bat, however, only one ball could be bowled before the covers had to brought out, as rain halted the match for more than an hour.
Eventually, the clouds would make way for some cricket action, but a soggy pitch meant runs were hard to come by.
Cairns scored 6-96 after 20 overs, with Dibas Bhandari (51) and Sanjay Rai (30) the top scorers.
Bhandari also took 1-19 with ball in hand to secure man-ofthe-match honours.
Adelaide batted out their 20 overs, but fell short on 6-76 to give Cairns the 20-run win and their third national title.
Cairns Bhutanese Cricket Club member and tournament co-ordinator Meelan Rana said the club had formed invaluable relationships with the Far North cricket community since the first tournament in Albury in 2017.
“Through these (relationships), we were able to build up the confidence for us to host the event in Cairns.
“The Cairns Bhutanese community were very excited and the boys were all very excited to win the trophy at their home ground.”