Posted by Game 10 of the T20 World Cup, Oman were up against Scotland eyeing a super 12 qualification. Oman lost early wickets but rebuilt and had themselves back in, the need was to accelerate but they failed to do so and were bowled out cheaply. Scotland in reply comfortably got to the required.
Oman having won the toss and opt to bat first. OMAN’S XI : Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh, Zeeshan Maqsood (C), Kashyap Prajapati, Naseem Khushi, Khawar Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Suraj Kumar (wk), Sandeep Goud, Bilal Khan, Fayyaz Butt.
SCOTLAND’S XI : George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer(C), Matthew Cross(wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Bradley Wheal, Safyaan Sharif.
Oman didn’t have the best of starts as Jatinder Singh on 0(1) was ran out and Kashyap Prajapati on 3(8) departed. Mohammad Nadeem and Aqib Ilyas stitched a partnership that saw a few boundaries and runs and Oman finsihed powerplay with 37-2 on baord. Scotland held tight and forced Oman to make mistakes, tight overs in the middle overs saw the dot ball pressure build and Oman were throwing their bat at everything, Aqib Ilyas was dropped on 37 but failed to make the most of the life as a couple balls later departed on 37(35). Oman failed to get big overs at halfway stage were at 53-3. Oman see a few big overs before Mark Watt striked a wicket and Nadeem on 25(21) walked back, wickets fell in cluster as Sandeep on 5(8) made his way back, Naseem Khushi on 2(4) departed and Suraj Kumar on 4(7) walked back and was a passage of play that Scotland dominated. Odd boundaries for Oman and nothing else was on offer by the scottish bowlers who were very disciplined. Zeesham Maqsood on 34(30) walked back and 122 was all that Oman got to despite being in good control at halfway stage. From 95-5 to 122, a collapse that Oman wouldn’t have wished for in a must win encounter.
Scotland with a breakthrough wicket got momentum back and then didn’t throw any easy to Oman to bank on. Bradley Wheal in his 3 was the only expensive bowler on show for Scotland. Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif and Mark Watt bowled economical spells and bagged 3,2 and 1 wicket respectively. Leask in his 3 was very economical and bagged 3 wickets. Chris Greaves wasn’t among wickets but did bowl his couple with good economy rate.
Scotland not chasing a big total see a cautious start but soon did accelerate. A couple big overs before Fayyaz Butt striked Munsey on 20(19) and the 33 run opening stand saw curtains, with a big over Scotland finsihed powerplay on 45-1. Matthew Cross was defensive on one end but Coetzer paced up a bit more and runs and boundaries were flowing with ease. Khawar Ali did look a threat as was bowling with great control and had his reward, with a wrong one got one through Scottish skipper, Coetzer on 41(28) and the partnership saw curtains. At halfway mark Scotland were 75-2. Matthew Cross continued to be defensive, no boundaries or maximum and was rotating strike. Richie Berrington and Cross with ease took the run chase ahead and didn’t look to attack much, were a few defensive overs before Berrington launched a few maximums. Inching close to the required, Richie Berrington in style with a boundary and a maximum sealed the win for his side. An unbeaten 48 run partnership, Matthew Cross and Richie Berrington remained not out on 26(35) and 31(21) respectively. A comprehensive 8 wicket win for Scotland.
Oman did look to pull things back but the destruction was caused and there wasn’t much to defend. Bilal Khan in his 3, Aqib Ilyas in his 2 and Zeeshan Maqsood in his 3 were all economical but none had a wicket to their name. Khawar Ali was impressive and in his 4 with economy of 6.8 bagged a wicket. Mohammad Nadeem and Fayyaz Butt were both expensive on show with Fayyaz having a wicket to his name.
Oman with the bat let the match slip and couldn’t ever stage a comeback, having not had much to defend they failed to strike early wickets and were never in the game. Co-hosts, Oman underperform and Scotland with a commanding win are through to the super 12.
Bureau of sports 