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AQIB Ilyas’ second successive half-century steered Oman to victory over the United Arab Emirates at Bulawayo Athletic Club yesterday to boost their hopes of making the Super Six of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Two days on from the momentous chase against Ireland, Oman did it again in Bulawayo, easing to a five-wicket win against the UAE. A fine effort with the ball, after electing to field first, put Oman in a strong position as they restricted the UAE to 227 for eight from their 50 overs.
A trio of half-centuries, including a second in a row from Aqib Ilyas, were then enough to see Oman home with four overs to spare despite a shaky start.
Jay Odedra (3/31) was the star of the show with the ball, bowling Ramez Shahzad (38) and Vriitya Aravind (49) in quick succession after their 87-run stand for the third wicket.
He added Ali Naseer to bring Aayan Afzal Khan to the wicket, with the 17-year-old giving his side a chance with a crucial knock.
Aayan hit 10 fours on his way to an unbeaten 58 from just 52 deliveries, adding 40 with Karthik Meiyappan and 33 with Zahoor Khan.
Needing 228 to win, Oman lost both openers to Junaid Siddique (2/31), Kashyap Prajapati first to go for six with Jatinder Singh (2) soon following.
That brought Aqib and Shoaib Khan together, the pair adding exactly 100 before Rohan Mustafa got through the defences of Aqib on 53.
Shoaib then left the field with cramps, before Zeeshan Maqsood was LBW to Rohan for one as the chase started to falter.
However, a 76-run stand between Mohammad Nadeem (50 not out) and Ayaan Khan (41) steadied the ship before Shoaib returned to see the team home and bring up his half-century, finishing 52 not out.
Summary scorecard:
Oman beat UAE at Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo by five wickets
UAE 227/8 50 overs (Aayan Afzal Khan 58*, Vritya Aravind 49; Jay Odedra 3/31, Bilal Khan 2/46)
Oman 228/5 in 46 overs (Aqib Ilyas 53, Shoaib Khan 52*, Mohammad Nadeem 50*; Junaid Siddique 2/31, Rohan Mustafa 2/31) – ICC Cricket/Sports Reporter
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