Oman opt to bat against Scotland in T20 World Cup

Oman's Aqib Ilyas plays a shot during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup cricket match between Oman and Scotland at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat on 21 October 2021.
AFP

Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood won the toss and elected to bat against Scotland in their bid to reach the Super 12s of the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday.

The Omanis made two changes to the side that lost to Bangladesh on Tuesday with Suraj Kumar and Khawar Ali coming in for Ayan Khan and Kaleemullah.

"We have to put up a good total and defend it," said Zeeshan.

"The pitch will play different in the second innings, a bit of spin, give freedom to our players."

Scotland's Saltires, who have won both of their matches so far, brought back Safyaan Sharif for Alisdair Evans.

"We would have been happy either way. Comfortable chasing," said captain Kyle Coetzer.

"We've got a real belief and togetherness among our group, having to win three games to top the group, if that's what we have to do, we are comfortable with that."

Victory for the winner will see them join Bangladesh, who earlier beat Papua New Guinea by 84 runs, in the Super 12s.

Sri Lanka qualified on Wednesday from Group A with either Ireland or Namibia set to join them on Friday.

Teams:

Oman: Jatinder Singh, Aqib Ilyas, Khawar Ali, Zeeshan Maqsood (capt), Naseem Khushi, Kashyap Prajapathi, Mohammad Nadeem, Suraj Kumar (wk), Sandeep Goud, Fayyaz Butt, Bilal Khan

Scotland: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (capt), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Bradley Wheal