It has been a troubled campaign for Australia, but the former champions ended T20 World Cup on a high, as they beat Oman by nine wickets in Kandy on Friday night.
Battered by injuries before and during the tournament, Australia missed out on Super Eight slot after losing to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
“Missed opportunity. As I have said multiple times, it is a bitterly disappointed changing room. Did not play our best in the couple of games we need to. That is tournament play. You lose to Zimbabwe and you are under pressure. Good luck to them. The wickets we have played on have not spun. We thought we had the guys to do the job. This wicket, last two wickets, were beautiful. Could not get the job done when it mattered. We will look at it as players and as a team. When you fail, there are always great learnings. Could not be more disappointed. We go home, reflect on it and then move on,” said Australian captain Mitchell Marsh.
On Friday, in their final group game, Australia chased down a modest target of 105 in 9.4 overs. Marsh led the way, galloping to a half-century in 26 balls and finished with an unbeaten 64 off 33. Australia struck 15 fours and four sixes to race to the finish line. His opening partner Travis Head fell for 32, off a brilliant caught and bowled by Shakeel Ahmed.
After electing to field, Australia quickly stamped their authority on the game. Xavier Bartlett castled Aamir Kaleem off the first ball of the innings and Oman were pegged to 47/3 in powerplay.
The Asian side wasn’t been able to put together a substantial partnership together and was bowled out for 104 in 16.2 overs. Wasim Ali top scored with 32, but none of the other batters were able to go past 20. Six of the batters were out bowled, equalling the record of such dismissals in T20 World Cup history.
Glenn Maxwell, who hasn’t had the best of World Cups, snapped his 50th T20I wicket, when he trapped Mohammad Nadeem leg before wicket. He has been Australia’s premier all-rounder in the last few years, bringing up the milestone to go with 50+ catches and 2500+ runs in the shortest format.
Oman especially struggled to read Adam Zampa, and the leg-spinner finished with 4/21 in 3.2 overs and was adjudged the Player of the Match.
“It has been rough few days. Few quiet voices (in the dressing room). Feeling pretty flat about the World Cup ending so soon. We built something around the brand of cricket we felt would work. Unfortunately, it did not work for us. Looking back, could have done more in the SL game. My contribution to that game was not where I wanted it to be. My job is to take wickets through the middle. Was able to do that in a couple of games but not in others. Unfortunately, we could not get it done when it mattered. You always rather have wickets than not have them. Really disappointed, wherein I am not yet ready to fly back home tomorrow,” said Zampa.
“It is a proud moment for all of us that we got a chance. The result and the journey, it did not go our way. Will reflect on the preparation, it was not quite up to the mark. Could not get the full members’ support. Wanted to play competitive cricket but could only play domestic cricket (which is not up to the level). Grateful for the journey, and I am sure everyone is proud of it. Now, everyone has experienced it, we know what ingredients are required for this stage. We have taken a lot of learnings from this stage and have taken a lot of positives, from the opposition as well. We are all grateful we got a chance to represent Oman. So glad we got tremendous support from the fans. With your (fans) support, we will definitely bounce back stronger,” said Oman skipper Jatinder Singh.
Brief scores: Oman 104 in 16.2 overs (Wasim Ali 32; Adam Zampa 4/21, Glenn Maxwell 2/13, Xavier Bartlett 2/27) lost to Australia 108 for one in 9.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 64 not out, Travis Head 32).
