ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Ludhiana-born Jatinder stars in Oman’s 10-wkt victory over Papua New Guinea

Courtesy
Jatinder’s
42-ball-knock
and
his
opening
partner
Aqib
Ilyas’s
50
not
out
off
43
balls,
Oman
chased
down
a
modest
130-run
target
in
only
13.2
overs.

None
of
the
PNG
bowlers
could
create
any
trouble
for
Jatinder
and
Aqib
as
they
went
about
their
business
in
confident
fashion
from
the
onset.
While
Jatinder
had
seven
fours
and
four
sixes
in
his
knock,
Aqib’s
innings
was
laced
with
five
boundaries
and
one
hit
over
the
fence.

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Very
strong
against
slow
bowlers,
Jatinder
would
rock
back
and
hit
them
over
mid-wicket
for
sixes
as
he
carried
his
form
from
the
Qualifying
tournament
in
2019
where
he
was
the
highest
run-getter
for
his
adopted
country.

Earlier,
skipper
Asad
Vala
struck
a
fine
half-century
before
rival
captain
Zeeshan
Maqsood
returned
with
figures
of
4/20
with
his
slow
left-arm
orthodox
which
restricted
PNG
to
129/9.

“They
were
batting
very
well
when
I
got
the
wickets.
Because
we
got
the
wickets,
they
couldn’t
put
on
a
big
total.
I
just
try
to
keep
it
tight
and
not
give
away
loose
balls.
We
knew
the
wicket
was
playing
very
well,
we
needed
to
make
sure
we
didn’t
give
away
loose
balls
and
easy
boundaries,”
Maqsood,
who
was
adjudged
‘Player
of
the
Match’ said
at
the
post-game
presentation
ceremony.

Sent
into
bat,
PNG
lost
both
their
openers
for
no
score
before
Vala
smashed
56
off
43
balls
with
the
help
of
four
boundaries
and
three
sixes
while
Charles
Amini
made
37
off
26
balls
to
stitch
81
runs
for
the
third
wicket.

But
thereafter,
PNG
witnessed
another
batting
collapse
as
they
lost
their
next
six
wickets
for
just
37
runs.
Maqsood
was
certainly
pick
of
the
bowlers
for
Oman
but
medium
pacers
Bilal
Khan
(2/16)
and
Kallemullah
(2/19)
also
chipped
in
with
a
couple
of
wickets
each.

Oman
will
play
Bangladesh
in
their
next
Group
B
match
on
Tuesday,
while
PNG
will
also
take
on
Scotland
the
same
day.