Oman beat the United States of America by four wickets in the ICC men’s Cricket World Cup League encounter at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman. They bundled out the USA for 178 in 44.4 overs, but struggled to reach the target with two balls to spare.
The USA were reduced to 48/5 after Zeeshan Maqsood won the toss and asked them to bat. Sushant Modani (20) and Jaskaran Malhotra (21) got failed to convert their starts into anything substantial. They were further down to 76/7, and then 96/8. Their top seven batters could not even reach 25.
Karima Gore (44) and Elmore Hutchinson (49*) added 66 for the ninth wicket to take their side past 150. The partnership came to an end when Mohammad Nadeem pinned Gore leg before in the 37th over. At No. 11, Saurabh Netravalkar could only manage 5 off 25 balls before he was run out by Shoaib Khan eight overs later.
Oman batted aggressively in their last match against Nepal, but did not get the best start this time. They lost both Jatinder Singh and Shoaib Khan to Netravalkar inside the first three overs. Ayan Khan took 56 balls for his 18 before Steven Taylor got him in the 17th over.
The next three batters Zeeshan (31), Nadeem (32) and Suraj Kumar (35) all chipped in with useful contributions against the disciplined USA bowlers to keep the chase under control. In the end, Sandeep Goud (27*) and Naseem Khushi (15*) added an unbroken 36 to take Oman past the finishing line in the final over of the contest.
Brief scores: The United States of America 178 in 44.4 overs (Elmore Hutchinson 49*; Ayan Khan 2-29) lost to Oman 179/6 in 49.4 overs (Suraj Kumar 35; Saurabh Netravalkar 3-39) by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Mohammad Nadeem.