Saturday 10 / May / 2025
Muscat: Batting fireworks, rain delays. And add to that, the tension created by Duckworth/Lewis method and revised targets. All the ingredients, that make a cricket match a thrilling affair, formed part of the dramatic final day of the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 3 competition in Uganda on Tuesday.
As in most such rain-affected matches, Tuesday’s match, in this case the title clash between Oman and Canada, ended in a no result. But it was Duleep Mendis-coached Oman who were declared the champions, thanks to their sensational performances in the league stage which saw them top the six-team table en route to the final.
Canada, who were in second position after the league stage, had to settle for the runners-up prize as per the tournament rules.
On the other hand, Oman’s campaign ended in a blaze of glory with the title triumph coming as an icing on the cake in their celebrations of returning to WCL Division 2, after a gap of nearly a decade.
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However, the ever-improving Oman side had to survive some tense moments before being declared the champions.
Right from the moment captain Sultan Ahmed -- who despite the prevalent overcast conditions and forecast of heavy rain -- decided to field first, and during the two rain stoppages, the players and the accompanying delegation as well as their travelling fans had to undergo anxious moments till the final announcement came declaring Oman as the champions.
At the beginning it looked like Oman had made a mistake of asking Canada to bat first as the North Americans piled up runs, with Bhavindu Adhihetty (86) and Nitish Kumar (50) putting on 102 runs for the first wicket.
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There was a bit of relief when the rain interrupted the play with Canada cruising along at 176 for three at the end of 38 overs.
When the rain finally relented and the covers were taken off, Oman contingent were in for a shock as their team were given a revised target, under D/L method, of chasing 177 runs in just 24 overs.
Considering the situation, Oman went for a change of tactics and sent in hard-hitting Zeeshan Maqsood, opening the batting for the first time in the tournament, and Khawar Ali to begin the chase.
And the way they started it looked like Oman were capable of achieving their target with ease. With Zeeshan Maqsood smashing 34 off just 16 balls with four fours and two sixes and after his departure Khawar and Mohammed Nadeem getting into the act, Oman were 50 for two in just 4.3 overs.
That’s when the skies opened up again and resulting the second stoppage. But this time there was no need return to the field as Duleep Mendis’ boys were declared the champions, sparking wild celebrations among the Omani contingent.
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Oman will now be looking forward to 2018 when they will be hoping to come up with good performance in the Division 2 competition and clinch a berth in the ICC World Cup Qualifier.
And interestingly waiting for them in Division 2 will be none other than the Canadians, besides four bottom placed teams from 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship.
SCOREBOARD
CANADA
BS Adhihetty c Mohd Nadeem b Munis Ansari 86
NR Kumar b N. Dhamba 50
NS Dhaliwal c Sultan Ahmed b Aaqib Ilyas 13
DN Pathirana (not out) 21
Extras (b-2, lb-3, nb-1) 6
Total (3 wkts; 38 overs) 176
Did not bat: N. Dutta, D. Soraine, Rizwan Cheema, Hamza Tariq, Saad Bin Zafar, SS Dhindsa, C Pervez
Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-125, 3-176.
Bowling: Bilal Khan 5-0-33-0; Munis Ansari 3-0-20-1; Nestor Dhamba 10-1-35-1; Mohammed Nadeem 4-0-12-0; Zeeshan Maqsood 6-0-28-0 (nb-1); Aaqib Ilyas 6-0-18-1; Khawar Ali 4-0-25-0.
OMAN
(target: 177 runs in 24 overs)
Zeeshan Maqsood c Pathirana b Dhindsa 32
Khawar Ali (not out) 9
Aaqib Ilyas b Dhindsa 0
Mohammed Nadeem (not out) 6
Extras (lb-1, w-2) 3
Total (2 wkts; 4.3 overs) 50
Did not bat: Ajay Lalcheta, Jatinder Singh, Munis Ansari, Bilal Khan, Naseem Khushi, Sultan Ahmed, Nestor Dhamba
Fall of wickets 1-43, 2-43.
Bowling: C. Pervez 2-0-10-0 (w-1); S. Dhindsa 2-0-32-2 (w-1); N. Dutta 0.3-0-7-0.
