Oman lift inaugural title of Gulf Cricket T20I Championship

Halfway through the tournament, Oman never looked like they would make it to the final as they struggled in the bottom half of the points table of the six-nation Gulf Cricket T20I Championship played at the West End Park International Stadium in Doha.

However, they turned it around at the right time and set up a virtual semi-final clash with Kuwait in the last round-robin match. Having won that on Friday, they met table-toppers United Arab Emirates in the final on Saturday night.

They surprised the fancied team, beating them by five wickets, reaching the 164-run target in 19.2 overs thanks to skipper Aqib Ilyas, a fight-handed batsman, who hammered 67 off 33 balls to pulverise the Emirati bowlers. Left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Ayaan Khan hit 53 off 38 balls to take the Oman team home to the inaugural title of the tournament.

Emirates had batted first and scored 163/5 in 20 overs with skipper Muhammad Waseem continuing in his rich vein of form, scoring 46 off 31 balls (2x4s, 4x6s). Right-handed batsman and off-spinner Asif Khan made 38 off 33 balls while Basil Hameed tonked 36 off 23 balls towards the end.

Ilyas took 2/24 with his leg-spin while left-arm pace bowler Bilal Khan took 2/38.

Oman started poorly, losing two early wickets to be two down for 11. However, right-handed batsman Shoaib Khan added 66 with Sialkot-born Ilyas to put Oman on the right track.

Ilyas was chosen Player of the Match.

Brief scores: United Arab Emirates 163/5 in 20 overs (Muhammad Waseem 46, Asif Khan 38, Basil Hameed 36 not out, Bilal Khan 2/38, Aqib Ilyas 2/24) lost to Oman 164/5 in 19.2 overs (Aqib Ilyas 67, Ayaan Khan 53 not out, Zahoor Khan 2/26, Muhammad Jawadullah 2/46) by five wickets.

Cricket, Oman, Gulf Cricket T20I Championship, UAE, Emirates, Cricket in Gulf, Middle East, West Asia