Following a heartbreaking defeat against Australia, Oman captain Aqib Ilyas reveals the moment when the game slips from their hold and says ‘had a grip on the game till the 14th over’.
Aqib Ilyas opens on defeat against Australia
Though the game was in high tension between Australia and Oman, the 2023 ODI World Cup title winners ended the game in their favour by winning the game by 39 runs.
Speaking on the post-match presentation, Aqib Ilyas said “We tried to defend a low target in the first game played a Super Over after a long time and today played a team like Australia. On turning tracks our bowlers can do well. Credit to our bowlers”.
One catch (off Stoinis) we messed up and you saw that over being taken for many runs and Stoinis. Media doesn’t show the positive things that we saw (smiles, when asked about his comment on Australia in the pre-match PC).
“They are top players and we respect them. Our bowlers did well. We had a grip on the game till the 14th over. Unfortunately. I wanted to take a catch. One of our ex captains Zeeshan dropped a catch and it was highlighted a lot for one year. I wanted to take a catch (off Maxwell) like that against Australia”.
“We messed up our plans. He was hitting straight down the ground easily. We then decided to change the plan and make him hit to the longer side boundary. We have to work on our batting. We have done in the past. If we can bat well in the powerplay it will be important for us and as a batter I have to do well there. Hopefully, we will turn up better next time”.
Speaking of the match, Oman decided to bowl first after winning the toss. As expected David Warner and Travis Head opened the inning for Australia. Travis Head who was in an exceptional form in the recently concluded IPL 2024 was expected to make an extraordinary performance in Australia’s opening game of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
But shockingly, Head got dismissed for 12 runs and returned to the pavilion while Australia scored 19 runs in 2.4 overs. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh was also dismissed without making much impact on the scoreboard.
Mehran Khan dismissed Marsh for 14 runs in the second delivery of the ninth over and also dismissed out-of-form Maxwell for a Golden duck in the very next ball. With a couple of quick wickets, Australia struggled to make a partnership but David Warner and hard-hitter Marcus Stoins made a century stand and brought back the team into the game.
David Warner who gave a steady inning for Australia lost his wicket in the final ball of the 19th over for 56 runs while Stoinis managed to score just 8 runs off the final over. With a century stand in the middle order, Australia scored 164 runs for 5 wickets loss at the end of 20 overs.
On the other hand, the defending ODI World Cup champions once again did an impressive job with the ball. Starc in the 3rd ball of the second inning dismissed Pratik Athavale and made an early breakthrough.
Without much contribution from the batters, Oman failed to chase down the target in the allotted 20 overs and fell short by 39 runs with a wicket remaining.
After an outstanding performance with bat, Marcus Stoinis also made an impact with the ball by bagging 3 wickets for 19 runs in 3 overs. Though Oman lost the game, Aqib Ilyas received a lot of praise from all around the world for his outstanding stunner to dismiss Maxell for a golden duck.
Oman will play their next match of the tournament against Scotland on June 9 in Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua.
