Oman rout PNG in opener, Scotland stun Bangladesh
Skipper Maqsood returned bowling figures of 4-20 to set up a 10-wicket victory for hosts Oman in the opener against debutants PNG. Greaves starred with bat and ball as Scotland shocked Bangladesh with a six-run win
Oman produced a clinical performance with both bat and ball to register a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Papua New Guinea as the Twenty20 World Cup, which was shited from India due to Covid-19, got underway in the unlikely surroundings of a 3,000-seat stadium on the outskirts of Muscat on Sunday.
Captain Zeeshan Maqsood’s (4/20) sensational bowling performance helped Oman restrict Papua New Guinea to 129-9 in the 20 overs
Assad Vala (56 off 43) and Charles Amini (37 off 26) were the top scorers for PNG.
In reply, Oman overhauled the target in the 14th over of the innings with ten wickets in hand.
Chasing a paltry target for victory, Oman openers Jatinder Singh (73 off 42) and Aaqib Ilyas (50 off 43) barely looked under pressure. They were solid rather than flashy during the powerplay and took Oman to 46 runs ater the powerplay.
Jatinder, who was strong with the reverse sweep all day, was the first to bring up his fity, off 33 balls. Geting to face a free hit, he got to the landmark with a six over long-on. Ilyas, who had been caught off a no-ball, got to his half-century in 43 balls, before Jatinder sealed the game with a final six.
Earlier, bating first, PNG were off to a terrible start as they lost wickets of openers Tony Ura and Lega Siaka on duck. Bilal took the first wicket of the tournament when he got the ball to shape into Tony, who edged onto his stumps. The next over, Kaleemullah foxed Lega Siaka with his outswing, before a straighter one was chopped onto the stumps.
Ater losing two wickets in quick succession, Assad Vala and Charles Amini bated sensibly and guided PNG to 70 at the halfway mark. They extended it to 81 when Amini, who had set off for a single from the non-striker’s end, couldn’t make it back in time as Mohammad Nadeem did a smart bit of work off his own bowling.
Assad ( 56 off 43), who looked in fine touch, smashed a six off Zeeshan Maqsood to bring his fity in the last ball of the 13th over. But, he couldn’t carry his innings any longer and was dismissed by Kaleemullah in the 15th over.
The loss of Vala in the 15th over with the team score at 102 triggered a collapse. The middle and lower order could only add 27 more, even as the Oman bowlers were aided by excellent fielding.
Maqsood spun the’momentum his team’s way, by sending back Norman Vanua, Sese Bau, and Kiplin Doriga in the same over. Excellent work by Nadeem, who held his balance in the deep to take a high catch of Damien Ravu, gave the skipper his fourth wicket.
“They were bating very well when I got the wickets. And because we got the wickets, they couldn’t put on a big total,” said Maqsood.
Maqsood sent back Norman Vanua, Sese Bau and Kiplin Doriga in the space of five deliveries and later took one more as PNG, who had been 2-0 at one stage, collapsed from 102-3.
“It wasn’t a good start with the bat, losing two wickets with no runs,” said Vala.
In another match, Chris Greaves starred with bat and ball as Scotland shocked Bangladesh with a six-run win.
Greaves’ 28-ball 45 guided Scotland to 140-9 and he then took two key wickets with his leg spin to keep down Bangladesh to 134-7 in the second first-round match of the day in Muscat.
Greaves, who had earlier rescued Scotland from 53-6 with his bating, sent back Shakib Al Hasan, for 20, and Mushfiqur Rahim, for 38 to dent Bangladesh’s chase.
Pace bowler Brad Wheal returned figures of 3-24 as world number six Bangladesh suffered an early setback in their fight to make the Super 12 stage.
Scotland are behind hosts Oman, who thrashed Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in the tournament opener, in Group B.
The top two teams will advance into the next stage and join the heavyweights in the seventh edition of T20’s biggest prize.
Bangladesh pinners Mahedi Hasan and Shakib justified their captain’s decision of bowling first by taking regular wickets but Greaves gave Scotland crucial runs with his late cameo of 45.
Scotland tried to rebuild ater losing skipper Kyle Coetzer for nought but Mahedi soon struck twice in an over to send back Mathew Cross, for 11, and opener George Munsey, for 29.
Shakib joined forces with another double strike and his wicket of Michael Leask for nought got him past Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga as the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals.