"We fell short with the bat": Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas after defeat against WI

Harare : Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas admitted that his team fell short in terms of putting runs on the board after suffering defeat against West Indies on Wednesday in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

Ilyas reflected back on the game and revealed that they were looking to get a score of 300 runs on a track which aided the batters. "We fell short with the bat. It was a flat track and we felt we needed more than 300. A single run-out can change things and we lacked a few runs. This is a big platform. The players have shown their skills - the batters and bowlers have done well. there was a collective performance from the team," Ilyas said in the post-match presentation.

As the defeat marked the end of their CWC Qualifier tournament Ilyas further went on to reflect and reveal what is next for the Oman Cricket team.

"Oman is going to play the Emerging Cup which is going to happen soon in Sri Lanka and then we will play the T20 World Cup qualifiers,"Ilyas signed off.

Oman's defeat to Netherlands two days ago ended Oman's hopes of clinching a spot in the World Cup 2023, on the other hand, defeat to Scotland in WI's last match ended their hopes of reaching the World Cup in India.

But out of both teams, it was Windies who responded in style in Harare.

Coming to the match, West Indies opening batter Brandon King slammed his first hundred in the tournament to lead West Indies to a consolation win in the Super Six clash against Oman in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

Defeat to Scotland in their last match ended the Windies' hopes of reaching the World Cup in India, but they responded in style in Harare.

Romario Shepherd took three wickets as Oman was restricted to 221 for nine from their 50 overs, and King led from the front in reply as the Windies got home with 10.2 overs to spare.

West Indies will now play the final game of the CWC Qualifier against Sri Lanka on Friday.