150 was a very low score on the wicket: Pratik Athavale

Pratik Athavale (40-ball 54) became only the third Oman batter to score a fifty in the T20 World Cup but it made no difference in the end as Scotland won the game with utmost ease. Chasing a target of 151, Scotland finished the job in just 13.1 overs.

For Oman, Athavale and Ayaan Khan (39-ball 41*) were the only ones to cross the 20-run mark against Scotland in Match 20 of the 2024 T20 World Cup on June 9 (Sunday). Eventually, the target turned out to be well below par on the good Antigua surface.

“We were batting well earlier, we had the game in our hands. But we couldn't have a good partnership, we had planned to have a partnership in between. But we couldn't do it. We were losing wickets quickly. So, we could only target 150,” said Athavale.

“The plan was that if we could get 2-3 wickets in power play, it would be good for the team. Because 150 was a very low score on the wicket. We should have scored 170-180. But we couldn't do that. If we would have taken three wickets of the top order, we could have restricted them. But Brandon McMullen and George Munsey did a good job on the wicket. They took the game from us.”

Munsey smashed 41 off 20 deliveries, while McMullen remained unbeaten on 61 off 31 balls. The two smoked 11 fours and six maximums between them. “They played the shots with the wind. And they were successful in executing it. So that was a plus point for them.

“I won't say that the bowling wasn't good. Actually, both their opening batsmen did good batting on that wicket. If we would not have missed those catches, we could have taken ourselves closer to the game. Anything could have happened then.”

Oman’s last match is against England and Athavale wants to end the tournament on a high. “We will go with a positive intention. Because we have not won a single match in the tournament. So, we will try to do our best. As a team, we are doing well and we will try to execute that plan.”

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