Openers Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas smashed unbeaten half centuries as co-host Oman thumped debutant Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in its opening first-round Group B game on Sunday.
Singh scored 73 off 42 balls and Ilyas made 50 that eased the host to 131-0 with more than six overs to spare.
Earlier, skipper Zeeshan Ashraf (4-20) registered Oman’s best figures in a T20 and pinned down PNG to 129-9.
“These are our home conditions, we knew even 140 could be chased easily,” Ashraf said. “We knew the wicket was playing very well, we needed to make sure we didn’t give away loose balls and easy boundaries.”
PNG captain Assad Vala (56) and Charles Amini (37) did well to share an 81-run stand after openers Tony Ura and Lega Siaka had played Oman fast bowlers back onto their stumps without a run on the board.
But Amini’s run-out was followed by Singh taking a brilliant running catch at long-on before Ashraf, the left-arm spinner, grabbed three wickets in an over to derail the PNG innings.
Singh, played several impressive reverse sweeps, hitting seven fours and four sixes without any of the seven bowlers used by Vala able to trouble the batsman. He raised the victory with a six over mid-wicket in the 14th over.
The 131-run stand was Oman’s best partnership for any wicket in a T20 and the chase, without losing a wicket, was the third-highest in men’s T20 internationals.
“On that wicket, 129 was never going to be enough,” Vala said. “We were looking at 160-plus to give ourselves a chance. (First) Charles got run out, then myself getting out, (and) we lost our way. I think a lot of credit goes to Maqsood and his boys.”
Bangladesh and Scotland are the other two teams in the group and will play later Sunday. Group A comprises Ireland, Namibia, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 12 stage that starts in the United Arab Emirates next Saturday.
Five years ago, Oman sprung a surprise when it beat Ireland in its opening T20 World Cup game in India.
Source: United News of Bangladesh