ABU DHABI: World champions India overcame a gutsy Oman team to win the last group match of the Asia Cup by 21 runs on Friday and stay unbeaten in the T20 tournament.
India had already qualified for the Super Four stage and posted 188-8 after they elected to bat first at Abu Dhabi.
Oman — ranked 20th in world T20 rankings — put up a spirited batting show and finished on 167-4 after top knocks from Aamir Kaleem, who made 64, and Hammad Mirza, who hit 51.
The left-right batting pair of Kaleem and Mirza put on 93 runs for the second wicket and attempted to pull off the chase with some late boundaries that gave India the scare.
Hardik Pandya broke the stand with a stunning outfield catch to dismiss Kaleem off Harshit Rana and then sent back Mirza with his pace bowling in the next over.
Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh snared the fourth wicket of the innings and his 100th in T20 internationals — the first Indian bowler to reach the century mark.
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson top-scored with 56 and his second-wicket partnership with explosive opener Abhishek Sharma, who made 38 off 14 balls, lay the platform for India’s total.
Oman struck regular blows in their first meeting with the reigning T20 World Cup winners.
Shah Faisal, fellow left-arm quick Jiten Ramanandi and left-arm spinner Kaleem took two wickets reach.
India and Pakistan moved into the Super Four from Group A and face each again on Sunday, a week after India’s players refused to shake hands with their neighbors after victory in a group match.
Sri Lanka clash with Bangladesh in the first match of the Super Four on Saturday after the two teams made the next stage from Group B.
India beat valiant Oman in Asia Cup T20
India beat valiant Oman in Asia Cup T20
Al-Qadsiah’s SPL match postponed as Damac clinch victory in relegation six-pointer
- Damac secure 3-0 victory against Al-Riyadh in Abha
- Al-Kholood vs. Al-Qadsiah postponed until March 7
DAMMAM: Much has changed since the conclusion of Matchday 24 in the Saudi Pro League last Saturday. Several nations across the Middle East have postponed their leagues indefinitely, with the war in the region even threatening West Asia’s participation across all levels of AFC competitions for the upcoming knockout stages.
The Saudi Pro League was one of the few to continue without pause, with Matchday 25 scheduled to kick off on Thursday as Damac welcomed Al-Riyadh and Al-Qadsiah travelled to Qassim to face Al-Kholood. Or, so Saudi Pro League fans thought.
Hours before Al-Kholood and Al-Qadsiah were set to kick off, the hosts announced that they had received a notification from the Saudi Pro League confirming their match was postponed Saturday, March 7, due to the cancellation of Al-Qadsiah’s flight to Qassim.
That meant that Thursday featured the sole encounter between Damac and Al-Riyadh, with Friday and Saturday set to host four matches each.
Both Damac and Al-Riyadh have endured difficult seasons. They two sides were level on 16 points prior before the meeting in Abha, and both had suffered similar 1-0 defeats to Al-Ahli in recent weeks — matches in which each felt unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
That said, it was Damac who controlled proceedings for most of the evening. Mauricio Dulac set the visitors up in their traditional 5-4-1, with Mamadou Sylla leading the line.
Damac, meanwhile, looked to break them down centrally, operating in a 4-3-1-2 that gave Valentín Vada freedom behind Yakou Méïté and Mohammad Al-Salkhadi. They were aided by Jonathan Okita’s dangerous runs from deep, which ultimately changed the course of the match.
After initial attempts to find the in-form Méïté in the air through a series of crosses, Damac shifted their focus to one of their other strengths: attacking through the middle.
A calculated long ball from Jamal Harkass found Okita breaking into the space in the Al-Riyadh defence, as the Congolese midfielder controlled the ball with a fine touch before firing past Milan Borjan in 35th minute.
Damac extended their dominance after the interval. In the 53rd minute, another Harkass long ball created danger — this time with Méïté holding the ball up before Al-Salkhadi threaded a pass through to Vada, who calmly finished to double the lead.
At the hour mark, Sanousi Al-Hawsawi effectively sealed the match as he met Abdulrahman Al-Obaid’s corner with a towering header, giving Damac a crucial victory and lifting them three points away from the relegation zone.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hilal hosting Al-Najma, Al-Khaleej facing Al-Hazem, Al-Taawoun taking on Al-Fateh, and the Sea Derby between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad kicking off at 10:00pm.
