T20 World Cup finally got underway yesterday with two matches from Round 1, which saw hosts Oman triumph and Scotland stun Bangladesh.
Oman off to perfect start
The first round is being held in Oman and the hosts got off to the perfect start with a comfortable win over Papua New Guinea (PNG)
PNG began with losing two wickets without having any runs on the board, in a dream start for Oman. However, they recovered after a solid 81 run stand between captain Assad Vala and Charles Amini. The stand was broken with th run out of Amini and PNG soon lost Assad after he scored a half century.
At the end PNG were restricted to 129/9, a total below par. Oman had no issues while chasing this target as openers Aqib Ilyas and Jatinder Singh smashed PNG bowlers all over the pitch.
Aqib scored 50 of 43 balls, while Jatinder looked impeccable 73 of just 42 balls, with Oman wining the gam in 13.4 overs with 10 wickets in hand. A perfect start indeed.
Bangladesh stunned by Scotland.
Bangladesh might feel harsh being placed in the first round as the placings were decided in 2018, since then the team has improved and won significant matches against much favoured opponents, but they were in for a rude awakening in their opening game against the Scots.
Bangladesh began the match in impressive fashion, with tight bowling and some rash batting by Scotland leaving them with a stronghold on the game with Scots at 53/6 after close to 12 overs.
Mark Watt and Chris Greaves then steadied the ship, keeping the scoreboard ticking, with Greaves taking charge.
The duo put up 51 run stand between them before Watt departed. Some slogging by Greaves and tails contribution pushed the total to 140/9 in 20 overs.
In reply Bangladesh lost both openers cheaply, but the experienced duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim guided the team through the middle overs and it appeared that they were set for a win.
Scotland however kept their discipline never allowing Bangladesh to get away with the game at any point. They were soon rewarded when both Shakib and Rahim fell in the space of just 9 runs by Greaves making contributions both with bat and now ball.
Captain Mahmudullah and Atif Hossain then brought hope to their side with a 32 run stand. After Atif’s depature, the game was set for Mahmuddlah to launch the final assault and take his side over the line, but it never arrived.
He kept mistiming the ball, managing only a four and a six in his 22 ball stay. In the end with 24 needed of the final over, Bangladesh fell short by 6 runs, making their next two games in the tournament as must win.