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Aqib Ilyas (Source-ICC)
Oman playing their first T20 World Cup tournament gave the mighty Australians a mighty scare early in the game. At one stage the Kangaroos couldn’t get going with the bat as the Oman spinners kept a firm grip on proceedings.
Aqib Ilyas stunned the Aussies when he took perhaps the best catch of the T20 World Cup 2024 edition. Mehran Khan saw Glenn Maxwell drive the ball with ferocious power but the Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas dove to his left and took a stunning grab to dismiss the Aussie batter for a golden duck.
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Australia ended their innings on 164/5 from their 20 overs with Marcus Stoinis and David Warner scoring fifties. It was Aqib Ilyas who won the toss and chose to bowl first and made a few changes to his side. One of the biggest talking points from Australia was the fact that Pat Cummins didn’t start the game as Nathan Ellis was given a chance to shine.
Australia finish strong after a jittery start
The Australian side opened their T20 World Cup campaign with their game against Oman. Travis Head and David Warner opened the innings as the pair added 19 runs for the first wicket inside 3 overs. Bilal Khan got the dangerous Travis Head out for 12 caught by Khalid Kail.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh struggled to get going as he could score just 14 runs from 21 balls before falling to Mehran Khan. The very next ball Glenn Maxwell was caught by Aqib Ilyas for a golden duck. Marcus Stoinis came out to bat and averted the hat-trick and then set about repairing the damage caused by the opposition.
David Warner and Marcus Stoinis then added a crucial 102 runs for the 4th wicket in 62 balls. Stoinis hit Mehran Khan for 26 runs in a single over which included four sixes to give the momentum back to the Aussies.
Playing in his final tournament for Australia, David Warner was out for 56 runs off 51 balls with 6 fours and a six. Marcus Stoinis was not out on 67 runs which came off 36 balls with 2 fours and 6 hits into the stands as Australia ended their innings a on a decent looking 164/5 from their 20 overs.