Unbeaten fifties from Oman openers helped the co-hosts beat Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in the opening Group B match of the first round of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. 

Asked to bat first, PNG lost both their openers without a score before skipper Assad Valla (56) and Charles Amini (37) stitched an 81-run stand for the third wicket. Valla scored four boundaries and three sixes to in his 43-ball knock, while Amini also found the fence four times apart from smashing one six from 26 deliveries.

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However, PNG suffered another batting collapse from there on, losing six wickets for just 37 runs after Valla’s dismissal.

Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 4/20 from four overs, with Bilal Khan and Kaleemullah taking two wickets each. 

In reply, Oman openers Aqib Ilyas (50 from 43) and Jatinder Singh (73 from 42) helped their side cruise start their world cup campaign with a thumping victory at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground. 

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Singh – who was born in Ludhiana, Punjab – became the first Oman batsman to notch a fifty in a world cup. 

However, it was skipper Masood’s exploits in the first innings that set up the win. The left-arm spinner took three wickets in one over – sending Norman Vanua, Sese Bau and Kiplin Doriga packing within five deliveries – to dismantle the PNG middle-order. 

“They were batting very well when I got the wickets. And because we got the wickets, they couldn’t put on a big total,” Maqsood said after the win.

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“I just try to keep it tight and not give away loose balls. We knew the wicket was playing very well, we needed to make sure we didn’t give away loose balls and easy boundaries,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Valla took heart in his side’s fighting spirit, recovering from being two wickets down at nought, but said the collapse after that was disappointing. 

“It wasn’t a good start with the bat, losing two wickets with no runs. But we fought back very well to get in a position to put on a good total. That collapse in the end was very disappointing.”