June 06, 2024
Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis led his team to victory against Oman in their opening T20 Cricket World Cup match on Thursday at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Kangaroos won the match by 39 runs.
Stoinis smashed a triumphant half-century and bagged three wickets as his team opened their tournament campaign with an easy Group B victory.
The all-rounder conjured a game-changing 67 not out off just 36 balls to power Australia to 164-5 and then got among the wickets as Oman were restricted to 125-9 in response in the 20-over game.
Australia's Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa and Nathan Ellis claimed two wickets each with Oman losing players at regular intervals during the run-chase.
Ayaan Khan was the top-scorer with 36 runs in 30 balls.
Earlier, Oman won the toss and decided to field first against Australia.
Despite reducing Australia to 50-3 in the ninth over, Oman ended up conceding 164-5 in 20 overs.
David Warner also notched up a fifty, scoring 56 runs in 51 balls.
Mehran Khan registered figures of 2-38 in four overs for Oman.
Australia are eyeing to achieve the elusive triple crown of World Test Champions, ODI World Champions, and T20 Champions.
On the other side of the pitch, Oman did not have the best start to the tournament and are looking to bounce back from a heart-wrenching defeat against Namibia.
"We were going to bowl first as well. Green, Agar, Inglis and Cummins are missing. Back of the tournament I am hoping I can be a complete all-rounder. We are excited to start the World Cup," Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said at the toss.
Oman: Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale (wk), Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood