DUBAI: Oman clinched a 7-wicket win over Papua New Guinea in the ICC Men’s CWC League 2, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night.
Batting first after winning the toss, PNG stitched together multiple partnerships around the 30 and 40 run mark but lost set batsmen at crucial moments — a factor that hampered their innings progression massively.
Charles Amini led the scoring with a 77-ball 59. Lega Siaka, Riley Hekure and skipper Assad Vala chipped in with tallies of 30, 26 and 21 respectively to take their side to a first innings total of 224-9.
Bilal Khan starred for Oman with the ball once more. He finished the game with figures of 3-39. Fayyaz Butt and Nestor Dhamba picked up 2 wickets each while Kaleemullah and Khawar Ali claimed 1 apiece.
In response, Oman found themselves in a spot of bother early on. Kashyap Prajapati and Shoaib Khan were both back in the dugout by the third over. Ayaan Khan looked in great nick for the remainder of the powerplay, but he too was dismissed in the 12th over with the scoreboard reading 53-3.
However, thanks to Jatinder Singh’s brilliance and Khawar Ali’s grit, no further wickets were lost and Oman sealed the win with 5.5 overs to spare. The pair erected a 174-run stand to close out the game — a stark contrast to PNG’s efforts from earlier in the day where the batsmen struggled to convert starts into match-defining knocks.
Jatinder’s flawless 118 runs became Oman’s highest-ever individual score in an ODI. He collected the majority of those by running between the wickets, keeping PNG’s fielders under pressure at all times.
Khawar provided the perfect foil for Jatinder to showcase his magic and ended on a well-made 57 himself.
Semo Kamea was the only one with more than 1 wicket to his name in the second innings.
Speaking after the match, captain Khawar Ali said, “It was our first game after a loss so it was a really good win for us as a team. We analysed the mistakes that we made in the first game and worked on it. In the second innings, after 2-3 quick wickets we were under pressure. My target at that point was just to stay at the wicket and give Jatinder the strike. His batting was outstanding today.”
Referencing his day’s work, Player of the Match Jatinder said, “Once I was in, my eyes were wide open. I was timing the ball well. I decided not to think too far. Just stay in the present, watch the ball and go ahead. I was getting my singles right too, so I didn’t have to go looking for some extraordinary shots.”
BRIEF SCORES:
Papua New Guinea 224-9 in 50 overs (Charles Amini 59 (77b, 4×4); Bilal Khan 3-39) lost to Oman 227-3 in 44.1 overs (Jatinder Singh 118 (116b, 13×4) Khawar Ali 57 (99b, 3×4, 1×6); Semo Kamea 2-36) by 7 wickets.