MUSCAT, april 21 - Captain Zeeshan Maqsood slammed a magnificent century while paceman Ahmed Fayyaz Butt picked up three wickets to power Oman to a emphatic win over fancied Canada in the ICC WCL Two championship in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday. Oman is now a win away from securing the prestigious One-Day International status. Oman posted a sizeable total on the board, scoring 285 for 7 in 50 overs thanks to brilliant batting by Maqsood, Aqib Ilyas (86), Jatinder Singh (26) and Khurram Khan (25). Maqsood and Aqib were involved in what turned out to be the match-winning partnership of 126 runs for the third wicket, laying the foundation for some quick runs in the final overs.
Canada was cruising at 103 for 3 in 21 overs before Oman fought back with some quick strikes, slowing the Canadians down which increased the pressure and ultimately led to their downfall. Nitish Kumar was the only batsman who impressed, topscoring with a fluent 61 off 65. In the day’s other game USA beat Namibia by 2 runs in a last-over thriller. Oman now leads the six-nation competition with four points, being the only side to have won both the matches played so far.
Brief scores: Oman 285 for 7 in 50 overs (Zeeshan Maqsood 109 – 9x4, 4x6, Aqib Ilyas 86 – 7x4, 3x6, Jatinder Singh 26 – 2x4, Khurram Nawaz Khan 25 – 1x4, 2x6. Romesh Eranga 3-57, Nitish Kumar 2-45) thrashed Canada 186 all out in 43.2 overs (Nitish Kumar 61 – 7x4, 1x6, Bhavindu Adhihetty 28 – 2x4. Navneet Dhaliwal 24 – 4x4. Ahmed Fayyaz Butt 3-30, Muhammed Nadeem 2-13, Sandeep Goud 2-21, Bilal Khan 2-40) by 99 runs.
Shahzad Raza
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