Stoinis all-round effort powers Australia to win over Oman

Marcus Stoinis became only the third player - after Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson - to score a half-century and take three or more wickets in a men’s T20 World Cup game as Australia opened their campaign in the T20 World Cup with a crushing win over Oman on another tricky surface at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday.

The eventual margin of their win - 39 runs - would point to a straightforward win for a team looking to simultaneously hold ICC trophies in all three formats but Australia did suffer a slight wobble with the bat and needed Stoinis (67* off 36 balls, 2 fours, 6 sixes) and David Warner (56 off 51 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) to bail them out to an above-par score of 164.

Oman did exceedingly well through the middle phase until that last over of the middle-overs phase when Stoinis survived a chance early on to plunder four sixes in a 26-run over. That turned Australia’s momentum around and allowed them to finish strongly.

Stoinis extended his fine day with three wickets, while leg spinner Adam Zampa took his 300th T20 wicket by yorking and cleaning up Shoaib Khan.

At the halfway mark of the chase Oman were 48/4 and 75/6 after 15 overs. Ayaan Khan Mehran Khan prevented Australia from running through the rest of the batting offering token resistance that saw Oman avoiding being bowled out. Amaan slogged a pair of sixes off Zampa before miscuing a third attempted shot to fall for a 30-ball 36. Mehran hit Hazlewood for a six and a four and pulled another short ball from Nathan Ellis for a six. He eventually became the third of Stoinis’ victims, falling for a 16-ball 27.

Scores: 

Australia 164-5 (20) (David Warner 56, Marcus Stoinis 67*, Mehran Khan 2/38)

Oman 125-9 (20) (Ayaan Khan 36, Mehran Khan 27, Mitchell Starc 2/20, Nathan Ellis 2/28, Marcus Stoinis 3/19, Adam Zampa 2/24)