Oman’s national cricket team defeated Bahrain in a practice match on Thursday. In a match played at TU Cricket ground as a practice match for ACC Men’s Premier Cup, Oman emerged victorious by 51 runs.
Batting first, Oman managed a score of 249/9 after 50 overs. Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood scored the highest 69 runs from 105 balls. Ayaan Khan hammered 61(60) runs. For Bahrain, Rizwan Butt and David Mathias grabbed a couple of wickets each.
In reply, Bahrain were bowled out for 198 runs in 45.2 overs. Sohail Ahmed’s 84 was not enough to take his side home. Haidar Ali assisted 47 runs. Bilal Khan was the pick of a bowler for Oman, grabbing four wickets. Kalemullah also pocketed two wickets.
Oman will play against Nepal in the second practice match on Saturday (15th April). Placed in Group ‘A’ with Nepal, Qatar, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, Oman will kick off the tournament on 19th April against Qatar at Mulpani Cricket Ground. They will face Nepal at TU Cricket Ground on 21 April.
The winning team of the ACC Premier Cup will join India and Pakistan in Group A of the Asia Cup 2023, which will take place in September. Furthermore, the top three teams of the Premier Cup will also get the opportunity to feature in the ACC Emerging Cup in July.
Oman Squad: Zeeshan Maqsood (captain), Aaqib Ilyas (vice-captain), Jay Odedera, Kaleemullah, Shoaib Khan, Kashyapkumar Prajapati, Adeel Shafique (wicket-keeper), Jatinder Singh, Mohammad Nadeem, Sandeep Goud, Bilal Khan, Ayaan Khan, Naseem Khushi (wicket-keeper), Fayyaz Butt.
Coaching staff: Duleep Mendis (chief coach), Madhu Jesrani (manager), Mazhar Khan (coach co-ordinator), Evert Laubscher (assistant coach), Avishkar Salvi (bowling coach), Zeeshan Siddiqui (analyst), Sean Nowak (physio).
