Scotland beat Oman in final-over thriller

Dubai: Oman fell to a 2-wicket defeat against Scotland in their ICC Men’s CWC League 2 encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on April 15, 2022.

Batting first after winning the toss, opener Kashyap Prajapati fronted Oman’s charge. He made up for missing out in the earlier games with a spectacular 81-run knock this time around.

While Kashyap was a key feature of Oman’s innings in the first 40 overs, the other batters weren’t able to step up in support during this period. Khawar Ali looked in fine nick for the duration of his stint in the middle, but his dismissal for 25 runs combined with the one of Kashyap 8 overs later, left Oman in choppy waters with the scoreboard reading 152/5 after 39.2 overs.

However, Nadeem and Naseem Khushi bailed Oman out and took them to 225/7. Nadeem finished on an unbeaten 53 while Khushi collected 29 runs.

For Scotland, Michael Leask picked up 3 key wickets and also pocketed the catch of Kashyap. Adrian Neill, Mark Watt and Safyaan Sharif claimed the remaining scalps.

Chasing, Scotland’s top-order of Kyle Coetzer, Matthew Cross and Christopher Mcbride combined for just 8 runs. But a 98-run stand between Richie Berrington and George Munsey kept them in the hunt. Berrington in particular fought through visible discomfort to top score with a brilliant 110-ball 73. Munsey finished on 43 runs himself.

The problem for Scotland during the middle overs was a lack of boundaries. 131 deliveries between the 16th and 38th overs saw none.

Oman were collectively excellent on the field during this period and kept the pressure on the batters with disciplined bowling and tight fielding. Their efforts succeeded in creating breakthroughs too, as Dylan Budge followed Munsey back to the changing room in the 36th over with the score at 143/5.

However, Scotland’s lower order stepped up in massive fashion to turn the tide in their favour.