In Australia’s opening T20 World Cup match, Marcus Stoinis became only the third player – after Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson – to score a half-century and take three or more wickets. This impressive performance helped Australia secure a crushing win over Oman at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Despite the eventual 39-run margin, Australia faced some difficulties with the bat and relied on Stoinis and David Warner to help them reach a competitive score of 164.
What was the turning point?
The 15th over of the first innings was crucial. Oman had performed well until the last over of the middle phase when Stoinis, after surviving an early chance, hit four sixes in a 26-run over. This shifted the momentum in Australia’s favor and helped them finish strongly.
Australia
PowerPlay: Australia made a steady start after choosing to bat first.
Phase Score: 37/1 (RR: 6.17, 4s/6s 6/0)
In the T20 World Cup match, Australia, after opting to bat, commenced their innings with a steady approach during the PowerPlay phase. Despite Travis Head’s notable performances in the IPL, where he made a significant impact while opening for the SRH team, his transition to opening batting for his home team Australia in the T20 World Cup seemed to present challenges.
Travis Head, known for his aggressive batting style, entered the crease with high expectations. He showcased glimpses of his prowess by striking the first delivery he faced for a boundary. However, the challenging conditions of the sluggish Barbados pitch posed a formidable obstacle to his hit-through-the-line approach. As the innings progressed, Head encountered difficulties in finding his rhythm and eventually succumbed to a toe-edged delivery from Bilal Khan in the third over, after managing just one more boundary.
The remainder of the PowerPlay saw Australia facing formidable bowling from Oman, who effectively restricted David Warner and Mitchell Marsh from finding any boundary opportunities. Coupled with the challenging pitch conditions, Oman’s disciplined bowling effort limited the 2021 champions to a modest 37 runs in the PowerPlay, showcasing their prowess in containing a formidable batting lineup.
Middle Overs: There was a 30-ball drought without a boundary, and then a delayed aggressive batting.
Phase Score : 69/2 (RR: 7.67, 4s/6s: 4/4)
Mehran Khan started the post-PowerPlay phase by offering a friendly full-toss off a free-hit delivery, which Warner put away for four runs. Captain Marsh then powerfully swept his counterpart, Aqib Ilyas, in the eighth over. If Australia thought this was a sign to start scoring quickly, they were mistaken. There were no boundaries for the next 30 deliveries as Oman’s bowlers, especially their skipper, applied pressure. Mehran took wickets off successive deliveries in the ninth over to dismiss Marsh and Glenn Maxwell. Marsh toe-edged a lofted shot to long-on, and Maxwell was dismissed for a golden duck with a sensational diving catch at cover by Ilyas.
At the end of 12 overs, Australia were 63/3 and scoring at less than a run-a-ball. The momentum changed when Warner managed back-to-back boundaries off left-arm spinner Zeeshan Maqsood. Stoinis finally found his rhythm in Mehran’s last over, the 15th of the innings. It started with an error in judgment from Ayan Khan, who took a catch at long-off but stumbled backward into the ropes. Stoinis then hit three more sixes, all of them down the ground, to plunder 26 runs off the over.
Death Overs: Stoinis powers Australia to above-par 164
Phase Score: 58/2 (Run Rate: 11.6, Fours/Sixes: 4/3)
Stoinis was unstoppable once he got going, effortlessly hitting the ball to the boundary and expertly maneuvering the field. When the field was set straight, he adjusted his position and managed to score runs through square leg. He also took advantage of full tosses, hitting one from Bilal Khan for a six to reach a half-century in just 27 balls. Warner took 46 balls to reach his 50, also with a six. He eventually scored 56 runs off 51 balls before Stoinis finished the innings unbeaten on 67 off 36 balls, helping Australia to a strong total
Oman
PowerPlay: Chase effectively over before it begins
Phase Score: 29/3 (Run Rate: 4.83, Fours/Sixes: 3/1)
The target always seemed to be beyond Oman’s reach, but they had talked ahead of the match about not conforming to reputations. When Kashyap Prajapati punched the first ball of the chase for four, there was a sign of that determination translating to the bat. However, those glimpses turned out to be rare as Mitchell Starc struck with his third ball, a full in-dipper that caught Pratik Athavale in front of his stumps on review. Oman lost two more wickets in the fielding restrictions, both to seam. Prajapati played around his pads attempting to flick Nathan Ellis and was trapped LBW. Captain Aqib Ilyas fell victim to a wobble-seam delivery from Marcus Stoinis just two balls after smashing a six over deep square-leg off Australia’s player of the match.
Middle Overs: More wickets as chase fizzles out
Phase Score: 46/3 (Run Rate: 5.11, Fours/Sixes: 3/1)
Stoinis continued his impressive performance with another wicket as Zeeshan Maqsood attempted a swing across the line, only to produce a thick edge to the wicketkeeper. Ayaan Khan found a brace of boundaries off Ellis, but at the halfway mark of the chase, Oman was 48/4. Starc came back strong to dismiss Khalid Kail, while Adam Zampa made a significant contribution to Australia’s bowling attack by bowling out Shoaib Khan with a yorker, marking his 300th T20 wicket.
Death Overs: Ayaan and Mehran help Oman past 100-mark
Even though Australia was at 75/6 after 15 overs, some unexpected resistance came from Oman. Amaan and Mehran stepped up for their team. Amaan hit two big sixes off Zampa but couldn’t continue the streak, getting out after scoring 36 runs off 30 balls. Mehran showed his batting prowess, smashing a six and a four off Hazlewood, and another six off Ellis. He was eventually caught by Tim David after scoring a quick 27 runs off 16 balls. Oman managed to bat out the full 20 overs without losing all their wickets, which was a positive takeaway for them.
Brief scores: Australia 164/5 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 67*, David Warner 56; Aqib Ilyas 0-18, Mehran Khan 2-38) beat Oman 125/9 (Ayaan Khan 36; Marcus Stoinis 3-19, Adam Zampa 2-24) by 39 runs.
What’s next for the teams?
Australia will stay put in Barbados for the big clash against arch-rivals England on Saturday (June 8). Oman will head over to Antigua, where they’ll face Scotland on Sunday.
PC: ESPN
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