In a thrilling Asia Cup Group A match in Dubai, Pakistan crushed Oman by a massive margin, bowling them out for just 67 while chasing 161. Oman’s Sufiyan Mahmood didn’t hold back after the game, calling for more cricket matches between associate nations like his team and full Test-playing sides to bridge the growing gap in skills.
“The difference you see between us and Test nations shrinks only when we play more often,” Mahmood said at the post-match press conference. “If it’s just once every two or three years, nothing changes. This Asia Cup has been a huge learning curve for all associate teams. We need more games against Test sides to raise our standards and close that gap—otherwise, it’ll stick around.”
Mahmood also gave props to Oman’s bowlers for keeping Pakistan to 160/7 in their 20 overs. “We started strong and turned the game after 10 overs, even if we could’ve kept them under 140. The boys bowled brilliantly to fight back from 80 runs in the first 10—overall, our bowling was solid.”
Pakistan’s bowlers stole the show in the chase, with their spinners snaring six wickets for a miserly 40 runs in 11 overs. The Men in Green kicked off with fire: Shaheen Afridi kept things tight in the first over, then Saim Ayub struck gold by dismissing skipper Jatinder Singh for a duck on the second over’s first ball. Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza tried to steady the ship, but Ayub cleaned up Kaleem LBW for 13 off 11 balls soon after.
Things got worse for Oman post-powerplay. Mohammad Nadeem scratched around for 3 off 7 before Sufiyan Muqeem’s spin did him in. Sufyan Mehmood added just 1 before Mohammad Nawaz got him in the eighth over. Vinayak Shukla joined Mirza, but Shukla fell run out thanks to a sharp throw from Afridi. In the same over, Muqeem ended Mirza’s gritty knock of 27 off 23 balls.
By the 10-over mark, Oman were reeling at 49/6, with Zikria Islam (0 off 6) and Shah Faisal (0 off 1) at the crease. Skipper Salman Ali Agha brought on Faheem Ashraf, who wasted no time—nailing Zikria for a duck on his third ball. Afridi followed up by bowling Faisal for 1, and Ashraf wrapped it up by dismissing Hassnain Shah for 1 on his next over’s first ball.
Pakistan’s bowlers showed real fire, gearing up perfectly for their blockbuster clash against India next. Mohammad Haris earned Player of the Match honors for his match-winning 66, powering Pakistan to a dominant Asia Cup victory.
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