Oman defeated Bahrain comprehensively by 10 wickets to qualify for their third-ever T20 World Cup. Winning the toss at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Bahrain opted to bat first but was left helpless in front of the Omani bowling attack.
Having completed the powerplay overs at the score of 45/1, Bahrain soon found themselves in deep trouble when they lost 8 wickets with just 77 on the board in 15.2 overs. A little push from Ahmer Bin Nisar, who scored 26 (25)*, got Bahrain past the 100-run mark as they finished 106/9 in the 20 overs. Apart from Nisar, only two other batters Sarfaraz Ali (23) and Imran Ali (30) could score double-digit scores.
Aqib Ilyas picked his career-best figures of 4-10 in his 4 overs for Oman. Shakeel Ahmed picked 2-24, while Zeeshan Maqsood, Fayyaz Butt, and Bilal Khan all got a wicket each to their names.
In reply, Oman proved to be too good for the Bahraini bowlers, as the openers Kashyap Prajapati (57 off 44) and Pratik Athavale (50 off 42) did the job without losing any wickets in 14.2 overs.
Aqib Ilyas was named the Player of the Match for his 4 wickets that helped Oman restrict Bahrain to 106 runs.
With this win, Oman qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in the Caribbean and the USA in 2024, marking their third appearance in the tournament.