Wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris led Pakistan to a decisive 93-run victory over minnows Oman in a Group A Asia Cup match played in Dubai on Friday with a fluid half-century.
Choosing to bat, Pakistan amassed 160 for seven thanks to Haris’ 63 off 43 balls. After losing captain Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem early on, Oman’s reply got off to a terrible start, being bowled out for 67 in 16.4 overs.
Off-spinner Saim Ayub caught Kaleem leg before wicket, while Ayub used a carrom ball to clean up Jatinder. Hamad Mirza successfully hit some boundaries and sixes with his long grip, but Mohammad Nadeem was softly dismissed by left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem after being caught by Abrar Ahmed.
Oman continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Sufyan Mehmood was the next to leave when Hasan Nawaz caught him trying to slog sweep but giving up an easy catch to deep mid-wicket.
Pakistan had previously chosen to bat, but lost Saim Ayub (0) in the second ball of the game as Shah Faisal caught him in plumb in front of the wicket. The third umpire rejected Ayub’s request for a review.
After that, Sahibzada Farhan (29 off 29) and Haris (66 off 43 balls) steadied the ship with an 85-run stand for the second wicket.
Haris reached fifty when he hit Sufyan Mehmood for a six over deep mid-wicket in the tenth over. Haris’ fifty gave Pakistan a strong start, but Farhan had trouble with timing at the other end. In the eleventh over, left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem (3/31) caught and bowled Farhan, ending his brief stay.
Pakistan was pinned down by Kaleem’s double smashes in the 13th over. Salman Agha, the captain of Pakistan, was caught by Hammad Mirza of a full toss after Kaleem initially clean bowled a set Haris, who attempted a reverse sweep but got an inside edge on the stumps.
Pakistan collapsed to 120 for 5 in 16.4 overs as left-arm medium pacer Shah Faisal (3/34) removed Hasan Nawaz (9), who was caught by Hassnain Shah at deep point. After that, Mohammad Nawaz (19 off 10 balls) joined Fakhar Zaman (23 not out) in advancing Pakistan by clobbering boundaries and attacking the opposition.
In the 18th over, Zaman also hit a four off Hassnain Shah, while Nawaz hit two consecutive boundaries off him. In pursuit of quick runs, Nawaz played a solid hand before perishing in the last over. Zaman scored 23 runs off 16 balls while stuck at one end.
