ICC T20 World Cup, Oman thrash PNG: Records broken
What's the story
The ICC T20 World Cup got underway in Oman with the Round 1 group stage match between the hosts and Papua New Guinea. Oman overcame PNG in Group B to claim valuable points. Batting first, PNG were restricted to 129/9 in 20 overs. Skipper Assad Vala scored 56. For Oman, captain Zeeshan Maqsood claimed figures worth 4/20. Oman chased down the target in style.
Match
How did the match pan out?
PNG saw both their openers be dismissed for ducks to get off to a horrific start (0/2). Vala and Charles Amini shared an 81-run stand for the third wicket. However, PNG kept losing wickets from there on to manage just 129. In response, Oman openers laid the foundation for a superb win. Aqib Ilyas and Jatinder Singh were on fire.
Bowling
Maqsood claims second four-wicket haul, Bilal surpasses Ashwin's tally
Maqsood claimed his second four-wicket haul in T20Is and now has 22 scalps at 21.22. Bilal Khan (2/16) was impressive in his four overs which also included a maiden. Playing his 36th T20I, Bilal has raced to 53 wickets at 15.94. Bilal has surpassed the likes of Sunil Narine, Hasan Ali, R Ashwin, and Adam Zampa in terms of T20I wickets (52 each).
Feats
Vala smashes fourth T20I fifty
PNG's Vala struck a 43-ball 56 for his side in a knock laced with four fours and three sixes. Vala has registered his fourth T20I fifty. He now has 572 runs at 24.86. Vala has also gone past 50 fours in T20Is (51), becoming the second PNG player to achieve this mark. Meanwhile, PNG's highest scorer - Tony Ura - registered a maiden duck.
Partnership
Record century-plus stand for Aqib and Jatinder
Aqib Ilyas and Jatinder Singh smashed a century-plus stand for Oman (131*). This is now the second-highest stand for Oman for the first wicket in T20Is. It's also just their fourth century-plus stand for any wicket. Aqib and Jatinder have now stitched two century-plus stands (also, 126 vs Canada for the second wicket).
Oman duo
Jatinder and Aqib slam respective fifties for Oman
Jatinder slammed a valiant fifty (73*) for Oman, smashing seven fours and four sixes. He slammed his fourth T20I fifty and became the first Oman batter to score 750-plus runs in the format. He also registered his highest T20I score. Aqib registered his third T20I fifty, besides going past 450 runs.