Hosts Estonia got their tournament off to a great start on Wednesday morning with a comfortable six-wicket victory over Bulgaria, but they were pushed harder by their opponents than they had been at the equivalent competition a year ago.

The Bulgarians managed to set a total of 105, but their innings came to a dramatic conclusion when Estonia's Murali Obili performed a hat-trick in the final over. Bowling a succession of Yorker-length deliveries, he bowled the last three Bulgarian batsmen to finish with figures of three for 8.

Bulgaria began promisingly in brilliant sunshine after captain Saif-ur-Rehman won the toss and elected to bat, Matthew Stewart and Danial Trenev putting on 33 before Stewart was bowled by Sivalingham Arunachalam. Stuart Clarkson then helped Trenev add another 20, but then Moshiur Rahman removed both batsmen, and the innings began to falter.

Tim Heath picked up three wickets at a cost of 20 runs, two of them well caught on the midwicket boundary by Mario Tammoja, and despite a useful little eighth-wicket partnership between Ivaylo Dunchev and Ivaylo Katzarski which saw the total past the hundred mark, it was all brought to an end by Obili's feat.

Nand Lal Riar went onto the attack when Estonia replied, hitting five boundaries as he contributed a run-a-ball 24 to an opening stand of 40, but then Amal John struck back, having both Riar and his partner Moshiur Rahman caught behind by Lyubomir Zanev in the space of four deliveries.

But Heath, surviving a chance when he was on one, blasted 21 from 15 balls, including the only six of the match, and with useful support from Obili he took the total on to 73. Then two wickets again fell in quick succession, Katzarski removing Obili and Prakash Mishra dismissing Heath in the next over, and at 74 for four the Estonians threatened to wobble.

Keeper Marko Vaik and Arunachalam saw their side home with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 32, however, Vaik hitting three boundaries in his 19 not out and Arunachalam contributing 12 as Estonia won with moiré than four overs to spare.