Scotland cruise to seven-wicket victory over Oman in T20 World Cup

Scotland boosted their chances of advancing to the second round of the T20 Cricket World Cup on Sunday with a resounding seven-wicket victory over Oman in Antigua, propelling them to the top of Group B.

Brandon McMullen’s unbeaten 61 runs off just 31 balls led Scotland to victory with nearly seven overs to spare, chasing down Oman’s total of 150-7 in 13.1 overs.

Oman, having lost their previous two Group B matches to Namibia and Australia, chose to field after winning the toss under clear skies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound. Opening batsman Pratik Athavale set the pace with a quickfire 54 off 40 deliveries, supported by Naseem Khushi (10 runs) and Aqib Ilyas (16 runs).

The Omani innings stumbled with Zeeshan Maqsood and Khalid Kail departing early, leaving them at 71-4 after 8.5 overs. Ayaan Khan’s unbeaten 41 and Mehran Khan’s 13 provided some stability, guiding Oman to a total of 150-7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Scottish bowler Safyaan Sharif claimed two wickets, though conceding 40 runs, while Brad Wheal maintained an economical spell of 1-19 off four overs. Spinner Mark Watt chipped in with a wicket for 25 runs in his four overs.

Scotland, now second in the group standings behind Australia, secured their position with a victory over Namibia in their previous match, following a rain-affected draw against England in their opener.

The win on Sunday heaps pressure on winless England, who have struggled in their first two matches of the tournament.

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Squads:

Oman: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail.

Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra

Scotland: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal