Zimbabwe delivered a masterful bowling display on their way to crushing Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B opening match in Colombo on Monday. After choosing to bowl first, Zimbabwe’s fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans wreaked havoc, each claiming three wickets as Oman crumbled to just 103 runs. At one point, Oman were struggling badly at 27 for 5. When it came to batting, Brian Bennett stayed not out on 48 as Zimbabwe easily reached their target in only 13.3 overs for a commanding victory.
TOSS-
Zimbabwe won the coin toss and decided to bowl first.
PLAYING XI-
Zimbabwe (Playing XI):
Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor(w), Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Oman (Playing XI):
Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla(w), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed
OMAN-
After deciding to field first, Zimbabwe unleashed their formidable pace attack with devastating effect as Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans tore through a struggling Oman batting lineup. Muzarabani got the new ball to move around dangerously, bowling captain Jatinder Singh with a lovely delivery that nipped back before Ngarava struck next by dismissing Hammad Mirza, who attempted an awkward swing across the line and gave wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor a simple catch.
This set the tone for what followed as Oman struggled terribly against the short-pitched deliveries. Their attempts to attack their way out of trouble only brought the fielders into the game. Muzarabani struck twice more in the fourth over as both Aamer Kaleem and Karan Sonavale fell in rapid succession. Oman were reeling at 24 for 4 when the PowerPlay ended, but things got even worse when Sikandar Raza quickly removed Wasim Ali.
The team actually recovered with Sufyan Mehmood and Vinayak Shukla adding 42 runs together. Shukla definitely liked Bennett’s spin bowling and hit three boundaries in the 12th over. Raza surely made a smart decision by using his fast bowlers again, and moreover, Ngarava successfully broke the partnership with another short ball delivery. The extra bounce caused Shukla’s dismissal as he tried to dab the ball, but it went straight to Taylor who dived behind the stumps to take the catch. We are seeing Jiten Ramanandi getting out in the same over only, hitting a short ball straight to Dion Myers who was standing at mid-wicket.
Basically, Evans dismissed Mehmood the same way – Mehmood tried to attack but pulled a short ball straight to the fielder at deep square leg. We are seeing that Oman reached 100 runs only through a top-edge shot off a bouncer, but Evans finished the match by taking wickets before and after that moment. The last wicket surely completed Zimbabwe’s excellent performance as Bennett moved quickly to his right at deep mid-wicket and made a diving catch. Moreover, this catch was one of the best in the entire tournament.
ZIMBABWE-
We are seeing Tadiwanashe Marumani start well by hitting four boundaries in a row against left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmad, making good use of this favorable situation. Sufyan took Marumani’s wicket on his first ball itself when Wasim caught him at backward point, but this created a small problem for the team’s further progress. Basically, after two more balls, Myers got a small inside edge when he tried to push the same ball to the off-side. The wicket-keeper Shukla saw it properly and told his captain to take the review, and we are seeing this decision only created big problems for Zimbabwe’s batting plans.
Basically, Bennett and experienced player Taylor handled the situation themselves, even though Taylor was struggling against left-arm spinner Nadeem Khan the same way. Basically, both batters played smart cricket, rotating the strike regularly and hitting boundaries when they got the chance, doing the same thing throughout their partnership. As per the match situation, Nadeem’s 11th over gave away 15 runs which ended all chances regarding Oman’s comeback, with Bennett leading their attack.
Moreover, as Zimbabwe was surely moving closer to their target, Taylor felt some pain in his right leg while taking the second run. Moreover, this discomfort came at a crucial time in the match. He got injured after a few balls and had to leave, so Raza came to bat and the captain only finished the match with a boundary hit, while Bennett was left with just 48 runs and could not complete his fifty.
Further, zimbabwe finished the chase with 39 balls remaining and improved their net run-rate as per this easy win, which will help them regarding the tough matches coming up against Australia and Sri Lanka. Moreover, this team surely made a strong statement with this victory after missing the 2024 tournament. Moreover, they could not have asked for a better win to prove their capabilities.
Brief Scores:
Moreover, basically, Oman scored 103 runs and got all out, then Zimbabwe chased the same target easily and won by 8 wickets.
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