Oman put up an enterprising show with the bat but it was not enough to overhaul India’s total of 188 in their final group league match in Abu Dhabion Friday.
Half-centuries by Aamir Kaleem (64 off 46 balls) and Hammad Mirza (51 off 33), besides a significant contribution from Jatinder Singh, helped Oman give India a good fight before falling 21 runs short of the target.
Perhaps Oman’s inexperience let them down or else they could have pulled off an upset. India rested some of their regulars while captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t bat at all.
Earlier, Sanju Samson’s start-stop 56 off 45 balls andAbhishek Sharma’s 38 off 15 paved the way for India to set up a challenging total.
The match was supposed to be an opportunity to get some practice for those who hadn’t got a hit in the middle. Not surprisingly, India chose to bat on winning the toss which helped the likes of Samson, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube to fine-tune their skills.
The loss of regular wickets on a two-paced wicket made it tough for the batters, but Samson batted according to the situation. It was not his best show but the innings would help him get into rhythm ahead of the more important Super 4 clashes.
India's Hardik Pandya bowls a delivery during the Asia Cup 2025 cricket match between India and Oman, in Dubai.
Samson had a slow start — he was on 13 off 14 balls — but a six and a four off Madhya Pradesh-born Oman wrist spinner Samay Shrivatsava got him out of first gear. He proceeded to smash Zikria Islam for a straight six in the 10th over.
Once he reached his half-century off 41 balls, he tried to cut loose but was eventually dismissed, failing to read a slower delivery from pacer Shah Faisal.
Abhishek got a few lifelines but his attacking instincts were truly alive as he never shied away from chancing his arms in the Powerplay. It was because of him that India managed 60 in the first six overs.
The early departure of Shubman Gill had no effect on him. With a career strike-rate of 198.12, hurricane knocks like these never come as a surprise from Abhishek.
Tilak Varma also got cracking with some reverse-hits and explosive shots down the ground but his cameo was cut short when he mistimed one such attempt.
With this being a dead rubber, India experimented with their combination ahead of the Super 4, resting pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and No.1 T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy.
