MATCH REPORT
Follow UsAfter being put to bat at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, T20 World Cup debutants Papua New Guinea got off to the worst start possible, losing two wickets in the first two overs. Bilal Khan’s first over set the tone for Oman as he sent opener Tony Ura back, for a five-ball zero.
Lega Siaka had a fate similar to his opening partner, knocking Kaleemullah’s in-swinger back onto the stumps, leaving PNG dead to rights, at 0/2 after 11 deliveries. After the early jitters came the rebuilding that lifted their spirits.
Skipper Assad Vala and Charles Amini took the attack to the hosts with some scintillating strokes. While some rolled to the boundary with ease, the others were helped to the boundary by some ordinary fielding. Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood was a culprit himself, with a sloppy effort at the boundary during the powerplay.
In the next two overs, the duo added 18 runs, with twin boundaries from Amini’s blade as Vala equaled his feat later next over. The two southpaws then took seven runs off Aqib Ilyas' fifth over before picking up 14 runs in the last over of the powerplay, ending with a score of 40/2.
The Vala-Amini show
In the 2019 World T20 qualifiers, PNG had the second-best run-rate and strike-rate in the middle overs (7-15), which was on show against Oman. Vala and Amini batted with intent, pushing the singles and converting the singles into doubles with the odd boundary every other over.
At the half way stage, PNG were at 70/2, having struck a six in the four overs post the powerplay stage. Nevertheless, the partnership between Vala-Amini blossomed to a level that put Oman in a bit of pressure.
It required brilliant athleticism from Mohammad Nadeem, who found Amini short of his crease, as the PNG batsman departed for a 26-ball 37. Vala kept attacking and he too was dismissed on 56. At 102/4, with still almost six overs left in the innings, the momentum was with PNG.
Skipper to Oman’s rescue
Despite the great start from Sese Bau, Zeeshan Maqsood’s over changed the entire course of the proceedings in Oman’s favour. The left-arm spinner picked up three wickets in the 16th over, sending back – Norman Vanua, Bau and Kiplin Doriga – conceding just the one run, as PNG found themselves in a muddled situation at 113/7.
"Very happy. It is a crucial time for us. They were batting very well when I got the wickets. because we got the wickets, they couldn't put on a big total. I just try to keep it tight and not give away loose balls. We knew the wicket was playing very well, we needed to make sure we didn't give away loose balls and easy boundaries. That run-out by Nadeem turned it around for us. These are our home conditions, we knew even 140 could be chased easily. The wicket plays very well in the second half. Thanks to the supporters and family members at home and everywhere," Zeeshan talked about his spell in the post-match presentation.
Bilal Khan in the next over accounted for Simon Atai as PNG’s innings went into disarray. With Damien Ravu’s dismissal, the Maqsood recorded his best figures in the T20 World Cup and the joint-best in any T20 World Cup by a skipper. The partnership between the No.10 and 11, Nosaina Pokarna and Kabua Morea took PNG to 129/9, severely under-par.
Oman’s breezy reply
It was the battle of the best – PNG’s powerplay bowling vs Oman’s powerplay batting. In 2019 T20 WC Qualifiers, Oman batsmen had scored at a run rate of 7.8 in the powerplay overs. Only Ireland had bettered them (7.9). However, their balls/boundary ratio of 5.0 was the best.
And it was really on show, as they scored 12 runs from the first two overs, with Aqib Ilyas taking the onus on himself for the attack. But once Pokana came for his second over, Jatinder scored his first boundary before really taking the attack to the PNG bowlers. In the last over of the powerplay, Jatinder took Oman the hosts to 46, needing just 84 runs from the next 84 deliveries.
When the spinners came on, it was just exquisite batting from the two, as they combined to score two fours and a six in the seventh and eighth over, taking the tally to 66 after the eight over. And the carnage continued as Jatinder slogged PNG skipper Vala over the deep mid-wicket boundary for another maximum.
Since then, the right-hander didn’t stop, with yet another six and four in the next two overs, as he neared a well-deserved half-century against PNG, after pulling out a stunning switch-hit, in a knock that was 94% attacking. With some poor bowling from Ravu, who erred in both his line and length, Oman closed the gap between them and a famous ten-wicket win, scoring 17 runs off the 12th over.
With eight runs needed, it was just a matter of four deliveries as Jatinder finished things off in style, with a six over cow corner, as Oman registered a mammoth ten-wicket victory over PNG, in the first clash.
Brief Score: Oman (Jatinder Singh 73, Aqib Ilyas 50; Nosaina Pokana 0/15) beat Papua New Guinea (Assad Valad 56, Charles Amini 37; Zeeshan Maqsood 4/20) by ten wickets
Player of the match: Zeeshan Maqsood (4/20)
