Oman ‘rout’ debutants PNG by 10 wkts in T20 World Cup
AL AMERAT, Oman, Oct 17, (AP): Openers Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas smashed unbeaten half centuries as cohost Oman thumped debutants Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in their opening first-round Group B game on Sunday.
Singh scored 73 off 42 balls and Ilyas made 50 that eased the host to 1310 with more than six overs to spare.
Earlier, skipper Zeeshan Ashraf (420) 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.”
CRICKET
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 . Group A comprises Ireland, Namibia, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct 17, (AP): Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i defeated Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3-2 in an Asian Champions League quarterfinal on Sunday to stay on course for a second successive continental title.
Ulsan, which also won in 2012, needed extra-time to beat their South Korean rivals.
Knockout ties in the tournament have been reduced to a single game from the usual two-legged encounters due to the pandemic.
Georgian midfielder Valeri Qazaishvili put Ulsan ahead after 13 minutes at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, only for Han Kyo-won to level for Jeonbuk, champions in 2006 and 2016.
Just before the break, Yun Il-lok restored Ulsan’s lead. It didn’t last long with Jeonbuk hitting back, this time through Takahiro Kunimoto early in the second half.
SOCCER
After 101 minutes, South Korea international Lee Dong-gyeong hit the winner with a fierce shot from outside the area.
Next up for Ulsan is a semifinal on Wednesday against Pohang Steelers, another South Korean opponents.
Pohang, aiming for a record fourth Asian title, defeated Nagoya Grampus of Japan 3-0.
Lim Sang-hyub opened the scoring eight minutes into the second half and with 20 minutes remaining, Lee Seungmo added a second. Lim’s second in injury time sealed the victory.
The winners will face a team from Saudi Arabia in the final on Nov. 23.
Three-time champions Al-Hilal defeated Persepolis of Iran 3-0 in Riyadh thanks to two goals from former France international striker Bafetimbi Gomis and a long-range strike from Salem AlDawsari.