T20 World Cup opens with Oman cruising to 10-wicket win over Papua New Guinea

Oman opened the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup by cruising to a 10-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in Al Amerat.

Having opted to bat, Papua New Guinea never recovered from losing both openers in the first over without a run on the board.

A valiant 56 from captain Assad Vala helped his team escape total embarrassment, but four wickets from the left-arm spin of his opposite number Zeeshan Maqsood helped to cap the Papuans’ total at a paltry 129 for nine.

Oman, who scored a memorable win over Ireland in their only previous T20 World Cup campaign in 2016, would ultimately reach their target without losing a wicket.

Jatinder Singh hit 11 boundaries including four sixes in his knock of 73, whilst fellow opener Aqib Ilyas reached his half-century as the hosts wrapped up victory with 38 balls remaining.

The emphatic nature of Oman’s victory also means a healthy net run-rate which could come into play later in their initial group stage games.

PA