MATCH STORIES
Follow UsHaving more associate teams in the World Cup may run the risk of having more lopsided matches, thus downgrading the broadcasting pull factor, but if one thing that puts the World in a World Cup are them.
It’s a stage where incredible memories are made and cricket fans get a respite from the stagnant pool that international cricket has become with the dominance of India, Australia and England.
If anything, June 5, 2024 (Wednesday) was a perfect example of why cricket needs to do more for its associates. When Mehran Khan floored 2021 Champions Australia with a spell of pure pedigree; when Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas led the charge on the field to make sure Australia didn’t get any freebies, you were compelled to believe in the magic smaller teams bring to the event.
Bridgetown's Kensington Oval strip didn’t have any fear factor like their northern cousin in New York did, but it was still a surface that needed an incredible amount of application. Scoring runs were virtually an effort of patience - something David Warner realised after digging in deep for over an hour and half for his 27th T20I fifty. However, Oman had a little leeway to offer too, reducing the Aussies to 50/3 in 8.3 overs.
After scaring David Warner in the seventh over with a full ball, Mehran Khan sent Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell packing on consecutive deliveries.
For Marsh, things could have been different had he understood the pace of the wicket and not tried to go downtown. But already reeling at a 20-ball 14, Marsh knew he had to do something and that impatience led to a slog that came off the toe-end of the bat.
Mehran was not done yet. He had barely given away any run till that moment and on the very next ball had the number of Glenn Maxwell. A full ball lured Maxwell to drive on the up, but Aqib Ilyas was stationed at mid-off to take off perhaps the catch of the tournament so far.
The determination to prove themselves and to leave an imprint in the tournament was so clear in their body language and the way they moved around the field that Australia could have feared the worst. There wasn’t a tinge of apprehension in Oman's tactics nor was they afraid of celebrating wildly in front of the Aussies. The Big boys, for once, were silenced.
In the last encounter against Namibia, it was also Mehran, who delivered the carnage. Chasing just 109, Namibia were going on cruise control 73/2 when Mehran Khan put a brake on it with three wickets of his own. That put the African side in a soup and the match were then reduced to a tie.
Sure, today, Mehran ended up running into a spirited Marcus Stoinis, whose four sixes within a space of five balls obliterated his match figures that eventually looked 2/38 in four overs, but Oman had already proven a point. After having struggled massively against Namibia and then pulling it back to force a tie, they have shown taking them lightly won't do any good for any team.
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