All-round Stoinis stars in 39-run win for Australia

On expected lines, Oman were no match for Australia, even though a 39-run margin isn’t considered big enough for T20 cricket these days. It could have been though, had Ayaan Khan not lost his balance and touched the ropes after catching Marcus Stoinis in the 15th over. On 82/3 at that point, Australia were in a bit of a situation, not finding enough momentum to push through the middle overs after scoring just 37 in the Powerplay. Stirred by that missed catch though, Stoinis went on to hit three more sixes in that over to reverse the momentum. Twenty six runs added, Australia didn’t have to look back from thereon.

An unbeaten 36-ball 67 from Stoinis was just what Australia needed to pile up a defendable, though not overwhelming score of 164/5. “We'd lost a couple of wickets, I was just looking to hit the ball and along the ground at the start, just keep it simple. Soak up the conditions a little bit,” said Stoinis after Australia’s win. David Warner too did his part by playing second fiddle with a 51-ball 56 on a sluggish Bridgetown pitch as Australia added 102 runs for the fourth wicket to outplay Oman in the slog overs of their innings. Stoinis then returned to take 3/19 to guide Australia to a comprehensive win.

Oman grabbed a few moments but their inexperience showed in the chase as they kept losing wickets to end with 125/9. Nathan Ellis (2/28) and Mitchell Starc (2/20) struck early, reducing Oman 29/3 inside the Powerplay. Starc produced banana swing on the ball, striking Pratik Athavale (0) flush on the pads, but Australia were forced to review after their appeal was turned down. Kashyap Prajapati was then adjudged lbw after being pinned by Ellis, a decision they couldn’t reverse after opting for a review.

But Stoinis inflicted the worst blow, dismissing Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas who was looking to break free. Barring Ayaan Khan, who hit a 30-ball 36, and Mehran Khan who contributed with a 16-ball 27 cameo, Oman were down and out of the chase pretty early into their innings. It wasn’t a stroll in the park, but Australia would be happy to take full points in a tournament where the pitches may not produce high-scoring matches. “It's not going to be the 200 types in this tournament,” said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. “We are kind of going to the old T20 style here in this tournament.”