Aamir Kaleem, Khawar Ali spin Oman to second straight win
The spinners took six wickets between them conceding just 38 in their combined eight overs
ESPNcricinfo staff
20-Oct-2019
Aamir Kaleem howls an appeal for the wicket of Matthew Stokes • Peter Della Penna
Oman 106 for 3 (Ilyas 37*, Kinchit 1-18) beat Hong Kong 102 (Nizakat 31, Kaleem 3-14, Khawar 3-24) by 7 wickets
Oman moved to the top of the Group B table in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier with a resounding seven-wicket win over Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. This was their second straight win after they started the tournament by beating UAE by the same margin. Having opted to bowl, Oman's spin duo of Aamir Kaleem and Khawar Ali dominated the middle overs, sharing six wickets between them as Hong Kong collapsed from 48 for 1 to 102 all-out.
Only three Hong Kong batsmen got into double figures - Nizakat Khan (31), Kinchit Shah (12) and Waqas Barkat (19) - and only one of them managed to score at over a run-a-ball, typifying Kaleem and Khawar's stranglehold on the innings, who in addition to their three wickets each, conceded only 38 runs in their combined eight overs.
Khawar wasn't done yet as he and Jatinder Singh ensured there were no early hiccups in a small chase. The openers added 31 before Khawar perished to the offspin of Kinchit for 15. Khawar's wicket triggered a mini collapse as Jatinder and No.4 Kaleem too departed in quick succession to leave Oman in slight trouble at 46 for 3 in the ninth over with 57 still needed. But Aqib Ilyas (37*) and Zeeshan Maqsood (24*) controlled the chase thereafter with the match's highest stand of 60 to take Oman home.