Not entirely convincing either with bat or ball, India were made to stretch every sinew by a spirited Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Friday night. India beat Oman by 21 runs to register their third victory in a row.
In their final Group ‘A’ encounter with qualification to the Super Fours of the T20 Asia Cup already secured, India posted the highest total of the tournament, 188-8, but it wasn’t the domineering performance one would have expected of the No. 1 side in the world. Sanju Samson eked out a scratchy half-century after Abhishek Sharma made a typically boisterous start before falling for this third successive score in the 30s, and there were sweet cameos from Axar Patel, who left the field after hitting his head on the turf when he dropped a catch, and Tilak Varma lower down the innings.
India opener Abhishek Sharma en route his 15-ball 38. Pic/AP; PTI
But if India had hoped for others to get some meaningful batting time, that didn’t fructify. Shubman Gill perished in the second over to the impressive left-arm swing bowler Shah Faisal, bowled through the gate by an excellent late inswinger, while Hardik Pandya was unfortunately run out at the bowler’s end, a fate that befell Arshdeep Singh too with Jiten Ramanandi, the other left-arm quick who too turned in a tidy burst, the bowler on both occasions.
Fearless reply
Oman, bowled out for 67 by Pakistan and mustering only 130 against UAE during their second successive loss, sprang a big surprise with their excellent, fearless reply. With Jasprit Bumrah rested alongside Varun Chakravarthy, skipper Jatinder Singh and the 43-year-old Aamir Kaleem held their own against Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Not since Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka had put on 84 in the first of three T20Is in Pallekele last July had India failed to taste success in the Powerplay. That 16-match streak ended when the Oman openers added 56 when Kuldeep Yadav provided the breakthrough with a slider that hastened through and defeated Jatinder’s pull to crash on to the stumps off bat and body.
Big partnership
Kaleem, who had bowled brisk but tidy left-arm spin earlier in the day, carried on in the company of Hammad Mirza as Suryakumar Yadav, who slotted himself in at No. 11 upon winning the toss, worked the bowling changes. Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma got bowls and the second-wicket due cashed in with some wonderful strokeplay as Indian hearts started to beat that bit faster with Oman closing in on the target through adventurism and flair through a second consecutive substantial partnership (93 off 55 balls).
The fans had been regally entertained by the effervescent Abhishek, who more than made up for Gill’s cheap dismissal and Samson’s initial troubles. Faisal beat the wicketkeeper on the inside edge three times in a row and it took Samson five deliveries to get off the mark. But even with time spent in the middle, Samson never really hit top gear. Still, time in the middle and a fifty should count for a lot going forward. Axar helped himself to handy runs and Tilak was again innovative but the second half of the innings produced only 88 runs.
