Australia wrapped up their T20 World Cup journey with a crushing nine-wicket victory over Oman in their last group match. With Super 8 hopes already dashed, the Aussies made light work of Oman’s modest 104, reaching the target with nine wickets still in hand and more than 10 overs left at Pallekele International Cricket Ground. Skipper Mitchell Marsh powered his way to an undefeated 64 from just 33 deliveries, making sure the 2021 title holders finished their lackluster tournament on a high. Before that, Adam Zampa grabbed 4/21 to help dismiss Oman for a disappointing 104. Australia Pulled A Massive Win But Not Happy Ending They Expected .
TOSS–
Australia won the coin flip and chose to bowl first.
PLAYING XI–
Oman (Playing XI):
Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh(c), Karan Sonavale, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Vinayak Shukla(w), Jiten Ramanandi, Jay Odedra, Shakeel Ahmed, Shafiq Jan
Australia (Playing XI):
Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim David, Josh Inglis(w), Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
OMAN-
Once Australia decided to field, Xavier Bartlett made the ball swing wildly, dismissing Aamir Kaleem with a beautiful outswinger on the very first delivery. This set the tone as Australia grabbed three wickets during the PowerPlay, though Glenn Maxwell dropped an easy catch at second slip that would have given Bartlett his second scalp in the opening over. Nathan Ellis kept things tight on a good length as Karan Sonavale dragged one back onto his stumps, while Bartlett knocked over Jatinder Singh with an away-swinger that nipped back after bouncing.
Between these dismissals, Oman’s batsmen tried staying aggressive in the PowerPlay and managed to end the phase with Hammad Mirza launching a six. However, Adam Zampa soon took control with his spin bowling, foxing Mirza before delivering the knockout punch – a faster delivery that zipped off the surface to bowl him as he attempted a big hit. A successful appeal then saw the leg-spinner trap Mohammad Nadeem attempting a paddle-sweep, triggering a complete collapse despite Wasim Ali putting up some resistance with his 32 off 33 balls.
We are seeing that Australia’s players were not smiling much, which is only right for a team that should not have gone out of the tournament so early. Basically, cleaning up the Oman lineup was the same as any other task – no issues at all. Despite his troubles, Maxwell surely managed to take two wickets in the match. Moreover, one of these dismissals marked his 50th wicket in T20I cricket. Basically, Zampa finished the job by taking two wickets in a row – Jay Odedra got caught at long on and Shafiq Jan tried the same slog-sweep but got bowled.
AUSTRALIA-
We are seeing that Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head only continued their good form from the Sri Lanka match. As per the opening over, Marsh hit three boundaries and then hit a six in the next over regarding his batting performance. Head actually hit left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed for two good boundaries before Marsh definitely continued to attack the ball hard. Basically, these two players made the same fifty-run partnership again, finishing the PowerPlay at 73/0 when Marsh hit his fifty with a nice shot over mid-off.
We are seeing Australia was in hurry only as the boundaries kept coming at very fast speed. There was actually one exciting moment in this boring match – Shakeel made Head hit the ball really high on the leg side, and then both the bowler and wicket-keeper Vinayak Shukla definitely tried to catch it. Nobody could decide clearly and Shukla held on despite the difficult situation, then ran to celebrate and did Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siuuu’ celebration itself. This further showed his confidence after the close call. Basically, it was the same result with Australia winning big, and Josh Inglis finished the match with a boundary hit.
Further, australia finished the match with 62 balls remaining, as per which their net run-rate went above Zimbabwe who are at the top of the table. As per the tournament results, it made no difference regarding their performance since they are going home before the Super Eights stage.
Brief Scores:
Oman 104 in 16.2 overs (Wasim Ali 32, Adam Zampa 4-21, Glenn Maxwell 2-13, Xavier Bartlett 2-27) lost to Australia 108/1 in 9.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 64*, Travis Head 32, Shakeel Ahmed 1-29) by 9 wickets .
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