Jatinder Singh (73no off 42 balls) and Aqib Ilyas (50no off 43) power Oman to 10-wicket win over debutants Papua New Guinea in T20 World Cup opener; Oman were chasing 130 after PNG tumbled from 102-3 in Muscat; watch T20 World Cup live in full on Sky Sports between now and November 14
Sunday 17 October 2021 15:50, UK
Papua New Guinea tumbled to defeat on their ICC's Men's T20 World Cup debut as Oman ran out thumping 10-wicket winners in the tournament opener in Muscat.
Oman - making their second appearance in the competition having qualified for the previous edition in India in 2016 - limited PNG to 129-9 as the first-timers suffered a late collapse of 6-16.
Oman cruised to their victory target of 130 with 38 balls remaining in front of the home fans as openers Jatinder Singh (73no off 42 balls) and Aqib Ilyas (50no off 43) fired where their PNG counterparts had failed.
PNG slipped to 0-2 as Tony Ura and Lega Siaka were bowled for ducks, and then from 102-3 to 118-9 in the latter stage of their innings, with Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood (4-16) bagging three wickets in an over.
Papua New Guinea skipper Assad Vala (56) and Charles Amini (37) had rallied their side after the horror start with a third-wicket stand of 81, aided by some sloppy Oman ground fielding.
But the debutants faded significantly once Vala skied Kaleemullah (2-19) to long-on at the start of the 15th over, with Maqsood then striking three times in the 16th.
Jatinder and Ilyas backed up their bowlers with a brilliant unbroken opening stand of 131, carding their fourth and third T20I half-centuries respectively before Jatinder sealed victory with his fourth six.
Oman gained an important two points in their bid to qualify for the Super 12 stage, which begins next Saturday with Australia taking on South Africa and England meeting defending champions West Indies in a repeat of the 2016 final.
The top two sides in Group B - in which Oman and Papua New Guinea are joined by Scotland and Bangladesh - and in Group A - which features, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia and Sri Lanka - will progress.
Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas - Jatinder was the more aggressive of the Oman openers - his four sixes allied with seven fours - but Ilyas, played his part, too, although he was dropped on 42 at long-on
Zeeshan Maqsood - the Oman skipper bowled Vanua with a beautiful turning delivery at the start of the 16th over before going to have Sese Bau (13) and Kiplin Doriga (0) caught as PNG plummeted from 112-4 to 113-7
Assad Vala - the PNG captain struck four fours and three sixes en route to a 40-ball, fourth T20I fifty, reaching his half-century with a six off Maqsood - having collided with the bowler earlier in the over!
Mohammad Nadeem - the Oman man's direct hit snapped the excellent partnership between Amini and Vala, while he also took a fine catch on the long-on boundary late in the PNG innings
Kaleemullah and Bilal Khan - Oman's new-ball bowlers snared two wickets each, getting their side off to a great start as PNG openers Ura and Siaka chopped onto their stumps without scoring
Group A gets going on Monday with Ireland - making their sixth appearance at the T20 World Cup - taking on Netherlands from 11am and then 2014 champions Sri Lanka meeting debutants Namibia from 3pm.
Sri Lanka's slide down the T20I rankings means they have had to enter the first round, rather than achieving direct entry to the Super 12 stage alongside England, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan.
Papua New Guinea and Oman, meanwhile, are back in action on Tuesday - PNG face Scotland, while Oman play Bangladesh.
Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky between now and November 14. Ireland face Netherlands from 10.30am on Monday on Sky Sports Cricket, with Sri Lanka vs Namibia following from 2.30pm on Sky Sports Mix.
