THAILAND OPEN MENS T20I SERIES 2026
February 26, 2026
THAILAND NARROWLY MISS OUT ON FINAL AS THEY LOSE TO BAHRAIN
February 27, 2026
THAILAND FIGHT BACK TO BEAT BHUTAN IN THAILAND MEN’S OPEN
Thailand are hosting a four-team T20I men’s tournament at TCG in Bangkok and the hosts fought back brilliantly after losing their first match against Japan by beating Bhutan convincingly by 60 runs.
Thailand were asked to bat first and lost two early wickets before Akshay Yadav steadied the innings with a composed 33 in 38 balls. Captain Austin Lazarus took time to find his feet but he went for his shots as the innings neared its end and Thailand were able to advance from 63 for 3 in 14 overs to 140 for 6.
Lazarus was only out in the last over but he had transformed the innings with a perfectly paced 64 from 53 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. He had reached 17 from 33 balls with six overs to go but then hit 47 from his next 20 balls.
Bhutan made a bad start as they lost four wickets for 28 runs in the six-over powerplay as Kamron Senamontree wickets in his first two overs. This meant his brother Nopphon could tighten the screw with his left-arm spin and Bhutan were bowled out for 80 in 17.1 overs.
Thailand had gained an impressive victory by 60 runs and could watch the contest between the two teams who were victorious yesterday as Japan faced Bahrain. Bahrain are the higher rated team but Japan were far too strong for the gulf nation.
Bahrain chose to bat first but the Japanese bowling attack shared the wickets between six bowlers as Bahrain were restricted to 87 as they were dismissed in 19.2 overs.
Japan lost their captain caught behind in the second over but Abhishek Anand and Esan Rahman went for their shots to such good effect that Japan needed only seven overs to race to victory by eight wickets. Anand was unbeaten on 37 from 17 balls and Japan had won two matches out of two to take their place in Saturday’s final.
Thailand face Bahrain in their third match on Friday and they will also reach the final if they win and they will be looking for another supreme captain’s innings from Austin Lazarus to set them on their way.