Despite the brilliant innings from “Amir Kaleem” and “Hammad Mirza” that raised hopes of a miracle, ICC’s associate member side couldn’t pull it off in the end.
In terms of history, tradition and strength, the gap between the two teams is massive. Yet on the field Oman fought bravely against the mighty India. Thanks to the superb knocks from “Amir Kaleem” and “Hammad Mirza,” they even raised hopes of something extraordinary. But in the end, they fell short. With this win, the world’s No.1 T20 team India wrapped up the Asia Cup group stage with three consecutive victories.
On Friday in Abu Dhabi, the world champions won by 21 runs. Chasing 188, Oman managed 167. India used eight bowlers but could pick up only four wickets.
At one stage, Oman needed just 40 runs off 16 balls with nine wickets in hand. But once Kaleem and Hammad departed, their hopes ended.
The 43-year-old “Kaleem” smashed 64 off 46 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. Batting at No.3, “Hammad” made 51 off 33 with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Their 93-run stand for the second wicket is Oman’s highest against any ICC full member side.
For India, “Sanju Samson” scored a fifty (56 off 45) and was named Player of the Match. “Abhishek Sharma” played a whirlwind 38 off 15.
In a surprise, Indian captain “Suryakumar Yadav” didn’t come out to bat despite eight wickets falling.
As the Super Four lineup had already been decided, this match was more of a formality. India rested their main bowling weapons “Jasprit Bumrah” and No.1 T20 bowler “Varun Chakravarthy,” bringing in “Arshdeep Singh” and “Harshit Rana” instead.
Winning the toss at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, India lost “Shubman Gill” in the second over. “Abhishek” launched a blitz as India raced to 60/1 in the Powerplay.
“Jiten Ramanandi” ended Abhishek’s storm in the eighth over. “Hardik Pandya” and “Shivam Dube” couldn’t do much, though “Axar Patel” chipped in with 26 off 13.
The main anchor was “Samson,” who reached fifty off 41 balls before falling in the 18th over. Cameos from “Tilak Varma” (29 off 18) and “Harshit” (13* off 8) helped India reach 188.
With the ball, “Kaleem” took two wickets and began his batting with a boundary off the second ball. Oman’s scoring rate was slow at first; they made 44 without loss in the Powerplay.
In the ninth over, captain “Jatinder Singh” (32 off 33) fell, ending a 56-run opening stand — Oman’s first fifty partnership against a full member nation.
At 10 overs, Oman were 62/1. Then Kaleem and Hammad accelerated, taking the team to 100 in the 14th over.
“Kaleem” reached his fifty in 38 balls, raising his bat and helmet in a distinctive celebration. At 43 years and 303 days, he is now the oldest to score a fifty in a T20 Asia Cup innings, surpassing “Mohammad Nabi.” Just the day before, Afghanistan’s allrounder at 40 years and 260 days had made 60 against Sri Lanka on the same ground.
After getting a life on 24, “Hammad” smashed “Kuldeep Yadav” for two consecutive sixes.
With 48 needed off the last three overs, Kaleem hit two fours off the first two balls of Harshit’s over but fell to a brilliant catch by “Pandya” on the fourth. Hammad followed in the next over after hitting a four. From there, Oman could only reduce the margin of defeat.
In the final over, “Arshdeep” took a wicket to complete 100 T20 wickets — the fastest pace bowler to reach the milestone (64 matches). Only two spinners have done it quicker: “Wanindu Hasaranga” (63) and “Rashid Khan” (53).
Playing their first Asia Cup, Oman lost all three matches. India will begin their Super Four campaign on Sunday against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Match summary
- India – 188/8 in 20 overs (Abhishek 38, Gill 5, Samson 56, Pandya 1, Axar 26, Dube 5, Tilak 29, Harshit 13*, Arshdeep 1, Kuldeep 1*; Shakil 3-0-33-0, Faisal 4-1-23-2, Nadeem 1-0-19-0, Ramanandi 4-0-33-2, Shrivastava 2-0-23-0, Zikria 3-0-23-0, Kaleem 3-0-31-2)
- Oman – 167/4 in 20 overs (Jatinder 32, Kaleem 64, Hammad 51, Zikria 0*, Shukla 1, Ramanandi 12*; Pandya 4-0-26-1, Arshdeep 4-0-37-1, Harshit 3-0-25-1, Kuldeep 3-0-23-1, Axar 1-0-4-0, Dube 3-0-31-0, Tilak 1-0-8-0, Abhishek 1-0-12-0)
Result: India won by 21 runs
Player of the Match: Sanju Samson
