Oman produced a remarkable turnaround to defeat Hong Kong by 12 runs in the 4th playoff match played at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai on Wednesday.
Oman captain Zeeshan Masqood won the toss and decided to bat first. Hong Kong bowlers was simply sensational with the new ball as Nasrulla Rana got the breakthrough dismissing the dangerous Khawar Ali cheaply. Jatinder Singh were involved in two run out making Aqib and Oman captain Zeeshan Masqood run out. At the end of 6 overs, Oman were struggling at 28 for 3.
After the power play overs, Oman batsmen looked out of sorts and lost wickets at regular intervals which reduced them to 42 for 6. Jatinder remained solid with his technique while Aamir Kaleem also kept rotating the strike. Both these batsmen added 42 runs for the 7th wicket. Aamir was dismissed 17 off 30 balls. Jatinder took the charge with his aggressive batting hitting reverse hits off the fast bowlers and reached his fifty off 41 balls. Naseem Khushi played a blinder of an innings scoring 26 off just 9 balls and added quickfire 50 runs in 3 overs which helped Oman post a competitive total of 134 for 7 in 20 overs.
It was a remarkable bowling spell by Bilal Khan who wreaked havoc among the Hong Kong batsmen as got wickets of Nizakat Khan off the 2nd ball. Bilal swung the ball and got HK captain Aizaz Khan with a beauty of Yorker and then bowled swinging ball to dismiss Waqas Barqat to reduce Hong Kong in tatters at 18 for 5. Scott McKhenine who was promoted at number 4 looked solid with his technique taking singles and hitting occasional boundaries. At the end of 6 overs, Hong Kong were in tatters at 37 for 5.
After the power play overs, Haroon and Scott played sensibly taking singles and hitting boundaries which made Oman bowlers. When things were looking dangerous for Oman, Khawar Ali produced a beauty to dismiss Haroon for 20. Haroon and Scott added 52 runs for the 6th wicket. Ehsan Khan looked good with his intent but was bowled by Khawar Ali.
Despite the fall of wickets, the required run rate was never high. Mohammed Nadeem got the big wicket of Scott for 44 to end Hong Kong hopes of winning the match. Kyle Christie and Mohammad Ghazanfar could not score many runs as Oman restricted Hong Kong to 122 for 9.
Oman 134 for 7 in 20 overs (Jatinder Singh 67*, Nasrulla Rana 2/26) beat Hong Kong 122 for 9 in 20 overs ( Scott McKhenine 44, Bilal Khan 4/23) by 12 runs.
After intense battle, the six teams for the qualifying round in World 2020 has been decided. PNG and Ireland qualified directly from their groups. Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Namibia also qualified for the prestigious tournament.
These six teams plus Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will play in the first-round matches. Four teams from the qualifying rounds will enter Super 12 stage where India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, England, West Indies, Afghanistan and Australia qualified as they were in the top rankings.
