THAILAND’S BATTERS STAND TALL IN NARROW DEFEAT AT ASIAN GAMES
October 14, 2026
BANGI, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 05: Pictures from the match between Thailand and Bahrain during the 2026 ICC Men's T20I World Cup Asia Sub-Regional Qualifier A at YSD UKM Oval on October 05, 2026 at Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. (Photo by Peter Lim/PhotoDesk.com.my) for ICC International Cricket Council
Thailand have been competing in the Asian Qualifiers for the next T20 World Cup and they missed out on a place in the next stage by finishing fourth in their group but they rewrote their record books during the tournament.
Thailand recorded their highest ever total in T20Is as they hit 196 for 2 against Mongolia and followed by dismissing Mongolia for 13 which is the lowest total ever made against Thailand.
Inevitably it was Thailand’s biggest ever win by 183 runs as Akshay Yadav made Thailand’s second highest score with 93 not out and Phanuphong Thongsa took 4 for 2 including a hat-trick.
Thailand had lost their first three matches even though they pushed Bahrain very close as they were defeated by seven runs after restricting Bahrain to 104 for six.
They then lost to Qatar by seven wickets and made only 60 against Kuwait who chased the target in just seven overs.
The victory over Mongolia revived the spirit in the team and they beat Myanmar by nine wickets before they faced Bhutan in their last match.
Thailand did well to recover to 134 for 8 then bowled Bhutan out for 97 to win their third successive match by 37 runs.
It was Nopphon Senamontree who was the hero as the left-arm spinner equalled the best ever figures for Thailand with 5 for 10. He shares the record with left-arm seamer Jandree Coetzee who previously played first-class cricket in South Africa.
Qualifier A and B were both held at the same time in Malaysia so the best six teams will progress to the final Asian Qualifier. Thailand just missed out but there were plenty of highlights to remember.