T20 World Cup: Oman's Shakeel Ahmed claims three-fer vs Ireland
What's the story
In a thrilling Group B encounter of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, Ireland put on an impressive display against Oman. The Irish team, led by captain Lorcan Tucker, posted a massive total of 235 runs for the loss of five wickets in Colombo. Tucker played an unbeaten knock of 94 runs off just 51 balls, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. In what was a forgettable outing for Oman bowlers, spinner Shakeel Ahmed claimed three early wickets.
Early breakthrough
Shakeel Ahmed's 3-fer in powerplay
Opting to bowl first, Oman employed a spin-heavy strategy in the powerplay overs. The tactic worked wonders as left-arm spinner Ahmed wreaked havoc on Ireland's top order with a three-wicket haul in his three-over spell. He dismissed Tim Tector (5), Ross Adair (14), and Harry Tector (14) to reduce Ireland to 47/3 within the powerplay. However, knocks from Lucker, Gareth Delany (56 off 30) and George Dockrell (35* off 9) powered Ireland to the second-highest T20 WC total.
Stats
A look at Ahmed's stats
Ahmed was the pick of the Oman bowlers - claiming 3/33 in his four overs. This spell took him to 37 wickets from 46 T20Is at an average of 27.94. His tally includes an economy of 6.67. Notably, he went wicket-less in each of his previous four T20 WC outings. Meanwhile, Shah Faisal (1/32 from 2 overs) and Aamir Kaleem (1/29 from 4 overs) were Oman's other wicket-takers in the match.