The Singapore cricket team secured the bronze medal in the T20 Men’s Cricket event at the South East Asian Games 2023 being held in Cambodia. Singapore defeated Indonesia in the bronze playoff match by 15 runs.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Singapore set a target of 162/6 in 20 overs, thanks to Anish Paraam’s 59 off 39 balls. In response, Indonesia could only manage to score 147/8 in 20 overs, with Amjad Mahboob emerging as the most successful bowler for Singapore with figures of 3/29.
The team fought hard to win the match, especially after Indonesia got off to a flying start in the run chase.
Avi Dixit, one of the members of the Singapore team, told Connected to India, “The team is feeling good after winning the bronze medal match. However, we know that we are better and will be striving for gold in the upcoming events."
The Singapore team will next be seen in action for the five-nation T10 tournament beginning May 13.
Later in the day, Cambodia defeated Malaysia by 12 runs in the final to clinch the gold medal.
The 20-over format has full men's Twenty20 International or women's Twenty20 International status with ranking points on offer.
“A key lesson we learned is that T20 is never over till the last ball is bowled. The conditions in Cambodia are far from what we’re used to, but it’s important to adapt to them and work together as a team to overcome the difficulties,” Avi added.
Six teams took part in the Mens’ T20 Tournament, with Singapore, along with Cambodia and Philippines in Group B. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were in Group A.
Singapore defeated Philippines by 87 runs but lost to Cambodia by 15 runs, finishing second in their group and qualifying for the bronze playoff. One of the highlights of the tournament for Singapore was Anish Paraam’s 100 in 62 balls in the match against Philippines.
The cricket tournament is being held at the AZ Group Cricket Oval, Phnom Penh, from April 29 to May 16, 2023. Four different formats of cricket will be contested: 50 overs, 20 overs, 10 overs, and six-a-side.
This is the 32nd edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial sports multi-sport event, currently being held from May 5 to 17, 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Singapore squad: Aahan Gopinath Achar, Abdul Rahman Bhadelia, Adwitya Bhargava, Mahiyu Bhatia, Aman Desai (wk), Avi Dixit, Rezza Gaznavi (c), Anantha Krishna, Amjad Mahboob, Anish Paraam, Navin Param, Utsav Rakshit, Rohan Rangarajan, Raoul Sharma, Venkatesan Thiyanesh