DHARAMSALA, India — World Twenty20 debutant Oman stunned Ireland by two wickets in a thrilling last-over finish Wednesday with lower-order batsman Aamer Ali's 32-run blitz achieving the target with two balls to spare.
Oman openers Zeeshan Maqsood and Khawal Ali provided a 69-run opening stand only to see the middle-order give it away with the side reeling at 90 for five after 14 overs.
Aamer, who hit five boundaries and a six in his 17-ball stay, then stitched a crucial sixth-wicket stand with Jatinder Singh as Irish medium-pacer Max Sorensen failed to stop 14 runs from the last over.
It was indeed a great achievement for the Sultan Ahmed-led side, which mostly consists of Indian and Pakistani expats.
"We were trying to get boundaries every over. We have done a lot of hard work before coming to the World Cup, and finally it has paid off," 37-year-old Ali told cricinfo.com through a translator.
Scotland will play Zimbabwe, while Afghanistan is slated to meet Hong Kong in the two Group B matches Thursday.
Brief scores: Ireland 154 for 5 in 20 Overs (Paul Striling 29, Gary Wilson 38; Munis Ansari 3 for 34) lost to Oman 157 for 8 in 19.4 Overs (Zeeshan Maqsood 38, Khawar Ali 34; Kevin O’Brien 2 for 25) by 2 wickets.
