India won the match by 21 runs.
The group stage of the Asia Cup 2025 is done and dusted. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be the four teams which will lock horns in the Super 4s of the tournament. The most notable disappointment was Afghanistan missing out on the advancement after their loss to Sri Lanka.
India ended their group stage with a comprehensive victory over Oman. The Men in Blue chose to bat first after making two changes to their playing XI. They did not get off to the perfect start which they would have wanted. Vice-captain Shubman Gill fell to a ripper from Shah Faisal which uprooted his middle-stump. Abhishek Sharma scored a quickfire 38 off just 25 deliveries.
However, Sanju Samson was the hero for India as he held the innings together, with a composed 56. Wickets fell from the other end, but Samson made sure that he stayed put at the crease. To add to that, Tilak Varma’s cameo helped India to a respectable total. For Oman, Shah Faisal, Jiten Ramanandi and Aamir Kaleem picked two wickets.
The second innings was a roller coaster for the Indians. Oman started slowly, but a wonderful innings from Aamir Kaleem gave them some hope. However, India sealed victory by a margin of 21 runs. This was also the fifth instance wherein India used eight bowlers in a T20I game.
After Shubman Gill was dismissed by a ripper from Shah Faisal, Sanju Samson walked in to bat at No.3. Abhishek Sharma kept playing the way he does, and scored a quick 38 off just 15 deliveries. But once he was dismissed, the Indians went through a phase where they kept losing wickets at frequent intervals. Hence, it was important for someone to hold the fort. That player for India was Sanju Samson.
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper scored a composed 56 off 45 deliveries, which comprised three boundaries and three maximums. He kept the scoreboard ticking and ensured that the scoring rate never fell drastically. The only thing which will pinch Samson a bit would be Hardik Pandya’s run-out. The all-rounder was caught stranded outside his crease at the non-strikers’ end.
The Abu Dhabi pitch might just be a perfect suit for someone like Samson, because of his ability to read the length early. Samson is a terrific player of both pace and spin, but has the skill to hit shots on the up. This is a quality which would separate him from a lot of other batters.
In response to India’s 188/8, the Oman Openers Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem got off to a very steady start. They scored 44 runs in the powerplay. But most importantly, they did not lose a wicket. Keeping wickets in hand would have been the most crucial thing for Oman, and their openers were successful in doing that.
Having said that, the Indians are making a habit of opening the bowling with Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder has bowled the first over on multiple occasions in the shortest format, and has given results a lot of times. However, India will have to determine their strategy in the format with respect to their bowling. Without Jasprit Bumrah, there are signs that this bowling attack can struggle.
Though Oman did not lose a lot of wickets in the initial overs, the Indians were successful in not letting them go berserk. As a result, the chasing side was placed at a score of 62/1 at the halfway mark. The only thing that the Oman batters would have enjoyed is a bit more power at the start of the innings.
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Oman were 62/1 at the end of 10 overs. The target was nowhere to be seen. But that was when Hammad Mirza and Aamir Kaleem started accelerating, and how! They took the score to the 100-run mark in 14 overs, and began going after the Indian bowling. Kaleem brought up a sumptuous fifty and raised the bat in style. He was dismissed later, but not before giving the Indians a taste of their own medicine. He scored 64 off 46 deliveries.
On the other hand, Mirza continued to torment the Indians from the other end. The right-handed batter ended up with a score of a 33-ball 51, which will go down as one of his best knocks. The Indian attack was without Jasprit Bumrah, and it will surely be something that the Men in Blue will have to think about. With the T20 World Cup early next year, a opotent bowling attack would be the most important thing.
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