Match 10, Australia vs Oman, T20I Stats and Records at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Australia vs Oman. (Source – Twitter/X)

Australia haven’t played a T20I since the end of February, when they whitewashed New Zealand away from home 3-0 in a three match series. Oman on the other hand have already played one match in this T20 World Cup, against Namibia at this very stadium. Oman struggled to get going on a disruptive surface and none of their batters managed to score at a very heavy rate. Only Khalid Kail could build a long innings for Oman, as Rubel Trumpelmann came up trumps with a 4-fer.

Namibia did not find it smooth sailing either as their batters struggled to make runs as well, with Nikolas Davin and Jan Frylinck being the only batters to last long. But for the most part it looked like the job had been done for Namibia until Mehran Khan came in with a stunning spell in the death overs, taking three wickets in just two overs. Mehran was tasked with defending just 5 runs from the last over, but took two wickets in the first three balls of the over to force a tie.

The match went into the first Super Over in a T20 World Cup since 2012. David Wiese and captain Gerhard Erasmus unleashed a flurry of boundaries in the Super Over against Bilal Khan as Namibia posted 21 runs. Wiese came back to successfully defend the target as Namibia eventually got home in a clash that needn’t have been that close anyway.

Kensington Oval Pitch Report:

The expectation in West Indian pitches for the T20 World Cup has always been one of very low-scoring ones. And it reflects so far in the showings of the World Cup. While Scotland put up a seemingly healthy 90 runs in 10 overs against England in a rain-hit encounter, that luxury may not necessarily be afforded to either side in this encounter.

T20I Records & Stats at Kensington Oval:

Out of 26 matches played,16 have been won by the team batting first. Two matches ended in a no result, while one match had to be decided by tiebreaker. The average first innings score here is 152.

Australia vs Oman Strategies & Match-ups:

Chasing seems to be the go-to at this stadium. Especially when there is uncertainty about how the pitch will behave. The pitch might throw up some questions for the batters, who are likely to have a tough time here. Oman should hope that their bowling can restrict Australia as much as possible in lieu of their captain Aqib Ilyas’ rather bold declarations on the Australians’ techniques. The important match-ups for this match are: Mitchell Starc vs Aqib Ilyas, Pat Cummins vs Zeeshan Maqsood; Bilal Khan vs Travis Head; and Mehran Khan vs Glenn Maxwell.

X-Factors for Australia vs Oman:Australia:

On a pitch that is likely to favour bowlers, Mitchell Starc with his early swing will be key in this encounter. If he can deliver a blow or two early, Australia will be looking at an open opportunity to force the game into their favour.

Bilal Khan enjoys the distinction of being among the top 10 wicket takers of all time in T20I’s and hence it is no stretch to call him Oman’s best bowler. And he will have to be at his best if Oman are to put absolutely any pressure on Australia with the ball.