Oman beat Mumbai in last-ball thriller to set up series finale

MUSCAT: A scintillating last-ball six by Kaleemullah helped Oman to a sensational 2-wicket victory against a rampaging Mumbai in the third one-day game of the four-match series here at Oman Cricket Academy Ground One in Al Amerat on Thursday.

Requiring 13 to win off the last over from Aman Khan, Oman needed 8 off the last two. Bilal Khan smashed one down the long on boundary, leaving Oman to require 4 off the last ball.

A wide ball resulted in two runs and Kaleemullah taking the strike, needing one to tie and two to win. Known as the six-hitter in the team, Kaleemullah did not disappoint and whacked Aman straight over his head for a maximum.

The two teams will now lock horns on Friday for the series finale which Oman can only level as Mumbai already holds an unassailable 2-1 lead.

Oman’s chase was led by the promising Ayaan Khan who played a top knock, scoring 91 and the ever reliable Mohammed Nadeem who scored a fluent 55 as the duo put on 115 for the fourth wicket to keep a charging Mumbai at bay. Suraj Kumar’s gutsy 28 helped Oman to a close finish which the late order did well to achieve in their team’s favour.

“There couldn’t have been a better game than this one. I am so happy to see my boys pulling off a thriller. We are grateful to Mumbai too for not only agreeing to tour Oman but playing such wonderful cricket which we really needed to prepare for the big games ahead,” said an elated Pankaj Khimji, Chairman, Oman Cricket.

Oman captain Khawar Ali’s smile was even broader as he looked forward to Friday’s series decider.

“We really wanted to come out strong today to keep the series alive. I am happy that we were able to fight hard and win,” he added.

Mumbai captain Shams Mulani said, “It was a fantastic game of cricket. It got down to a T20 like finish and Oman finished it well.”

Man of the match Ayaan Khan was delighted with the victory and looked forward to the fourth and final match of the series.

“I am really so happy that I was able to contribute to Oman’s win today. I must thank Oman Cricket and the team management, specially my coach Duleep Sir, for backing me up and showing unwavering support. I was so focused on building partnerships that I hardly looked at my personal score throughout the innings. Luckily, we got some good batsmen who finished it well in the end,” added Ayaan.

The highlight of Mumbai’s innings was a solid 90 off 116 by its run machine Yashasvi Jaiswal who rescued his side from a disaster after it was reduced to 26 for 3 in 8 overs due to brilliant bowling by Kaleemullah who gave away only 9 runs in his six-over spell, dismissing Hardik Tamore and Arman Jaffer. Captain Mulani batted with authority, scoring a lovely 55 as the duo put on 111 for the fourth wicket. Ayaan was equally impressive with the ball, taking 2 for 27 whereas Mohammed Nadeem claimed 2 for 32.

Brief scores: Mumbai 239 all out in 48.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 90 – 6×4, 3×6, Shams Mulani 55 – 2×4, 3×6, Aman Khan 31 – 3×4, 2×6. Kaleemullah 2-09, Ayaan Khan 2-27, Mohammed Nadeem 2-32) lost to Oman 244 for 8 in 50 overs (Ayaan Khan 91 – 8×4, Mohammed Nadeem 55 – 3×4, 1×6, Suraj Kumar 28 – 4×4. Mohit Avasthi 2-42) by 2 wickets.