DUBAI: Oman held its nerve to thrash Bahrain by two runs in a nail-biting group stage match of the Gulf Cup T20 Championship on Tuesday at the ICC Academy ground in Dubai.
Bahrain won the toss and decided to bowl first. Oman’s openers Aamir Kaleem and Captain Jatinder Singh, struggled but returned to the pavilion after scoring just two and six runs, respectively.
However, Mohammad Nadeem and Vinayak Shukla built a crucial 50-run partnership to boost Oman’s score.
Mohammad Nadeem remained the top-scorer with 47 off 49 balls followed by Vinayak Shukla’s 33 off 24 balls. Oman posted 130/8 in 20 overs.
Bahrain’s bowlers, Imran Khan, Imran Anwar, and Rizwan Butt took two wickets each with Imran Khan (2/19), Imran Anwar (2/29) and Rizwan Butt (2/23).
In the chase of 131, Bahrain’s openers also quickly lost their wickets as Prashant Kurup (5) and Sarfaraz Ali (11) were dismissed early.
However, middle-order batter Asif Ali scored a brilliant 52 off 44 balls, supported by Ahmer Bin Nasir’s 25.
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Bahrain’s seven batters didn’t even manage to score double figures. Oman’s bowlers restricted Bahrain to 128/8, securing a thrilling 2-run victory.
Oman will face Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and Kuwait on December 20 in their upcoming matches.
Oman is now sitting third in the standings with Kuwait and Bahrain, all with four points.
However, Kuwait have the advantage with a better net run rate (NRR) of 0.601, followed by Oman with 0.217, and Bahrain is 0.178. UAE leading the group with 6 points winning the three matches.
