Rohail, Qasim and Arafat lead Shaheens to comfortable win over Oman

Pakistan Shaheens beat Oman by 74 runs to register their first win of the tournament in the seventh match of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup on Monday afternoon at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat, Oman. Chasing a total of 185-5, Oman were restricted to 111-7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, the Shaheens were helped to a mammoth total by Qasim Akram (48), Rohail Nazir (41 not out) and Arafat Minhas (31 not out). At the start of the innings, Oman’s Muzahir Raza jolted the Shaheens twice as he removed the opening pair of Mohammad Haris and Yasir Khan for three runs each to leave the Shaheens 13-2 in 2.4 overs.

Qasim Akram, the top scorer for Shaheens stitched a valuable 72-run third-wicket partnership with Omair Bin Yousuf (25, 21b, 3x4s) to steer the Shaheens to 79-2 at the halfway mark before Omair departed in the following over.

Qasim smoked three towering sixes and two fours during his 38-ball stay on the crease and was denied a half-century when Samay Shrivastava castled him with the scorecard reading 106-4 in 13.3 overs. Abdul Samad scored a 12-ball 20, which included two fours and one six.

With 116-5 on the board in 14.5 overs, Rohail Nazir, playing his first match of the tournament after being named a replacement for Haseebullah earlier, joined forces with Arafat Minhas as the duo put on a belligerent 69-run unbeaten stand for sixth wicket to propel the Shaheens to highest innings total so far – 185-5.

Rohail, in his player of the match performance, blazed his way to 41 off just 20 balls hitting three fours and two sixes while Arafat chipped in with a quickfire 31 off 15 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes. The duo ransacked 38 runs of the last two overs sending the Oman fielders on leather chase.

Apart from Muzahir’s two wickets, Samay, Sufyan Mehmood and Wasim Ali picked up one wicket each.

In turn, Oman only managed a modest 34-1 in the powerplay as Qasim Akram drew first blood for Shaheens as he pinned Aamir Kaleem for 11. Oman batters were further kept in check as they lost Karan Sonavale and skipper Jatinder Singh (24, 29b, 2x4s, 1x6) in the seventh and ninth over, respectively as their team struggled to keep the required rate under control.

Wasim Ali (28, 31b, 2x4s) top scored for Oman as they only managed 57 runs in the last 10 overs finishing 111-7 in 20 overs. Zaman Khan picked up 2-17 while Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran, Qasim Akram, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Moqim picked up one wicket each.

Pakistan Shaheens will face UAE in the third match on Wednesday, 23 October at 2pm PKT.

Scores in brief:

Pakistan Shaheens beat Oman by 74 runs at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Muscat

Pakistan Shaheens 185-5, 20 overs (Qasim Akram 48, Rohail Nazir 41 not out, Arafat Minhas 31 not out, Omair Bin Yousuf 25; Muzahir Raza 2-29)

Oman 111-7, 20 overs (Wasim Ali 28, Jatinder Singh 24; Zaman Khan 2-17)

Player of the match – Rohail Nazir (Pakistan Shaheens)