Zimbabwe win big against Oman

Zimbabwe outclassed Oman in all departments in Colombo, cruising to an emphatic 8-wicket victory.

Blessing Muzarabani’s heroics handed Zimbabwe a stunning start as they picked up four wickets inside the powerplay. Muzarabani struck early to remove Jatinder Singh, Aamir Kaleem and Karan Sonavale, putting Zimbabwe firmly in control. Richard Ngarava then joined the party by dismissing Hammad Mirza, leaving Oman reeling at 24/4 at the end of the powerplay.

A stunning delivery from Sikandar Raza went through the gates of Wasim Ali as Oman crawled their way to 43/5 at the end of the tenth over.

Vinayak Shukla and Sufyan Mehmood provided much-needed stability to the Oman innings, stitching together a 42-run partnership. Richard Ngarava returned to the attack and made an immediate impact, dismissing Shukla for 28 off 21 balls and then striking again in the same over to remove Jiten Ramanandi, claiming his third wicket of the match.

Pacers led the charge for Zimbabwe, with Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava returning excellent figures of 3/16 and 3/17 respectively, while Brad Evans also chipped in with impressive figures of 3/18. Skipper Sikandar Raza contributed with a wicket as Oman were restricted to a total of 103.

Zimbabwe got off to a flying start in the chase thanks to Tadiwanashe Marumani, who smashed 21 off just 11 balls before Wasim Ali pulled off a stunner to dismiss the opener. Sufyan Mehmood struck again in the same over, removing Dion Myers for a duck.

Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor stitched together a match-winning 68-run partnership that all but sealed the game for Zimbabwe. Taylor scored 31 off 30 balls before retiring hurt, visibly hobbling between the wickets.

Skipper Sikandar Raza then joined Bennett and struck the winning runs as Zimbabwe cruised to victory. Bennett remained unbeaten on 48 off 36 balls, his composed knock laying the foundation for the chase.