Oman too good for Germany in series opener

Shahzad Raza -

MUSCAT, fEB 3 -

Calm, composed and canny, Oman Women showed how to orchestrate a perfect run chase in a mighty comfortable 9-wicket win over touring Germany here at the picturesque grassy ground one in Amerat on Monday.

The five-match series opened with a 35-over game which will be followed by four T20 Internationals.

Set a target of 185 to win, Oman openers Fiza Javed (76 off 92) and Sakshi Shetty (72 not out off 85) got their team off to a great start, putting together an amazing 177-run partnership that not only pushed the tourists on the back foot but out of the game too. Vice-captain Fiza struck 11 stylish fours while Sakshi whacked six solid boundaries in their match-winning alliance in 27.3 overs. Oman raced to victory nine balls later as captain Vaishali Jesrani joined Sakshi on the crease to complete the formalities.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Germany posted a fighting 184 for 6, though the total included a generous 33 extras by Oman. Opening the bowling, Yashika Verma struck in her first over, dismissing opener Janet Ronalds for nought before a 66-run partnership between Peris Wadenpohi (29 off 37) and captain Anuradha Doddaballapur (26 off 34) put the Germans in a driving seat. However, Oman fought back valiantly with tight bowling and fielding to slow them down considerably. Although Anna Healey showed her class with a solid unbeaten 51 off 57, Oman made sure Germany would crawl rather than kill in the death overs. Amanda Coetzer was the most successful of Oman bowlers, taking 2 for 28 in 7 overs. Saporna Sivakumar, Suhani Dadwal and Sakshi Verma claimed one wicket each.

The four-match T20I series will begin with the first encounter on Tuesday, starting at 9.30 am at the same venue to be followed by the next game on Wednesday at 1.30 pm.

Brief scores: Germany Women 184 for 6 in 35 overs (Peris Wadenpohi 29 – 4x4, Anuradha Doddaballapur 26 – 3x4, Milena Beresford 26 not out – 3x4. Amanda Coetzer 2-28) lost to Oman 185 for 1 in 29 overs (Fiza Javed 76 – 11x4, Sakshi Shetty 72 not out – 6x4. Milena Beresford 1-32) by 9 wickets.