Saturday 22 / February / 2025
MUSCAT: Oman avenged their earlier defeat to Namibia in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series with a tense two-wicket victory at the Oman Cricket Academy ground in Al Amerat on Sunday.
The win, secured in a low-scoring contest dominated by spinners, propelled Oman to second place in the standings with 18 points from 15 matches, trailing leaders USA (20 from 15), while Canada sits third with 16 points from 12 games.
Namibia’s decision to bat first backfired as they were left reeling at 19/4 within the first 10 overs. Oman’s spinners exploited the conditions brilliantly, with left-arm orthodox bowler Shakeel Ahmed leading the charge once again. Continuing his fine form, he picked up 4/25, adding to his four-wicket haul in the previous game against the USA.
Jay Odedra set the tone early, trapping Zane Green (6) lbw before dismissing JP Kotze (1) soon after. Shakeel then dismantled the middle order, bowling Jan Frylinck (9) and later returning to clean up tail-ender Jan-Izak de Villiers (1).
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (15 off 43) and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (30 off 54) briefly revived the innings with a 35-run fifth-wicket stand, but Aamir Kaleem (2/16) broke the partnership by dismissing Erasmus. From 54/5, Namibia continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
Siddharth Bukkapatnam (1/26) and leg-spinner Samay Shrivastava (1/4) ensured that all ten wickets fell to spin, as Namibia were bundled out for just 96 in 33.1 overs.
Chasing a modest 97, Oman started confidently with a 42-run opening partnership between skipper Jatinder Singh (14 off 25 balls) and Aamir Kaleem (21 off 33). The pair looked in control until Erasmus (5/34) broke the stand by removing Kaleem in the 10th over.
Four balls later, Bernard Scholtz (2/31) dismissed Jatinder, triggering a collapse that saw Oman slump from 42/1 to 87/8. Erasmus ran through the middle order with a brilliant spell, trapping Hammad Mirza (4) lbw, and removing Sufyan Mehmood (0) with Wasim Ali sent back for 10 by Scholtz.
Vinayak Shukla (18 off 19) played a crucial hand, striking a boundary and a six to ease the pressure before falling to JJ Smit in the 19th over—the only wicket to fall to pace in the match.
With Oman still needing 16 runs, Erasmus struck twice in quick succession, dismissing Shakeel Ahmed (6) and Jay Odedra to leave the hosts on the brink at 87/8. However, Hashir Dafedar (5* off 19) and Siddharth Bukkapatnam (4* off 2) held their nerve, guiding Oman home in 22.4 overs. Dafedar struck a crucial boundary with six needed, and four byes sealed the win for the hosts.
Kaleem was named the player of the match for his all-round performance.
Oman now take on the USA in the concluding game of the tri-series on Tuesday. A win for Duleep Mendis’ men, who defeated the USA by seven wickets last Wednesday, will propel them to the top of the table.
Brief scores: Namibia 96 all out in 33.1 overs (Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 30, Gerhard Erasmus 15; Shakeel Ahmed 4/25, Aamir Kaleem 2/16, Jay Odedra 2/24) lost to Oman 100/8 in 22.4 overs (Aamir Kaleem 21, Vinayak Shukla 18; Gerhard Erasmus 5/34, Bernard Scholtz 2/31).
