PNG continue winning streak

Papua New Guinea defeated Fiji by 44 runs in the first match of the second day of the of the ICC East Asia-Pacific Region Division One Twenty20 tournament in Port Moresby, to register their third win in as many matches. PNG won the toss and got off to a solid start with the openers putting on 43 runs in the first six overs, with Asad Vala going on to make 40. A quick half-century from Mahuru Dai at No. 4 helped PNG finish with a competitive 152 for 9 from 20 overs. Vilikesa Nailolo was the most successful of the Fiji bowlers, picking up three wickets.

In reply, Fiji struggled to get going, as they kept losing wickets at short intervals. Apart from Iniasi Cakacaka, who top-scored with 38, the batsmen failed to convert starts. None of the other batsmen managed to get past 13 as Fiji folded for 108 in 18 overs. Jason Kila was the pick of the bowlers for PNG with four wickets.

Vanuatu registered a comfortable six-wicket win over Japan in the second game of the day. After choosing to bat, Japan lost their openers cheaply. Their middle order too failed to get going in the face of some miserly bowling from Vanuatu's bowlers, before Naoki Miyaji's unbeaten 25 down the order carried them to 109 for 7.

Vanuatu's batsmen were clinical in the chase, with their openers putting on a 63-run stand to set them on course. Lazaro Carlot made 44 while Lenica Natapei remained unbeaten on 22, sealing the win off the fifth ball of the 14th over.

Vanuatu followed up their first win of the day with another against Samoa, this time winning by five runs in a high-scoring thriller. After choosing to bat Vanuatu reached 185 for 3 riding on Simpson Obed's 71 off 48 balls and Andrew Mansale's 85 not out off 55 balls. Samoa's bowlers struggled to restrict the batsmen, managing just two wickets among them.

Samoa began their chase slowly, but were boosted by a whirlwind innings from Benjamin Mailata. He failed to receive much support from the other batsmen and was left stranded on 98 not out off just 51 balls, as Samoa managed 180 for 5 off their 20 overs, falling six runs short of their target. Mansale followed up his impressive performance with the bat by picking up two wickets while conceding only 23 runs in his four overs.

PNG continued their unbeaten streak in the tournament by thrashing Japan by 146 runs. After winning the toss, PNG got to 225 for 3 after their openers gave them a dream start with a 119-run stand. While Tony Ura fell for 53, Asad Vala went on to score 116 at a strike-rate of 196.61.

Japan, in their reply, were lacklustre. Opener Ko Irie was their highest-scorer with 23, as they finished with just 79 for 8 in their 20 overs. John Reva picked up three wickets in his four overs. Japan remain the only team in the tournament without a win so far.