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World number-one and world champion India won the final league match of the Asia Cup on Friday after a tough fight against 20th-ranked Oman in the T-20 format. First of all, Oman took eight wickets for India and then the 93-run partnership for the second wicket between Oman’s two batsmen (Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza) became a headache for the Indian team. The Super Four will be played between India and Pakistan on Sunday 21st.

India had scored 188 runs for the loss of eight wickets, in response to which Oman lost only four wickets in 20 overs and scored 167 runs. Hardik, Arshdeep, Kuldeep and Harshita took one wicket each. India could win by only 21 runs. The pair of Pakistan-born Aamir Kaleem (64 runs, 46 balls, two sixers, seven fours) and Oman-born Hammad Mirza (51 runs, 33 balls, two sixers, five fours) left the Indians breathless. It is a big thing that after taking eight wickets, Oman team could score 150-plus runs against this top team India by losing only four wickets.

Earlier, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, India made a bad start to the match by losing the wicket of Shubhman Gill in the very second over. Captain Suryakumar Yadve had given a chance to bat to every player of the team and he himself did not come to bat till the end. At the end of this new experiment, the Indian team was able to register a challenging score of 188 runs, but after that Oman gave a tough competition to the Indians in bowling and batting also.

India lost eight wickets against the effective bowling of Oman in which Gill, Tilak Verma and Shivam Dubey lost their wickets, while Hardik was run out. However, the hope of a 200-plus total did not materialize. Samson (56 runs, 45 balls, three sixers, three fours) had the biggest contribution in 188 runs. Abhishek scored 38 runs, Tilak Verma, who was sent at seventh position, scored 29 runs, Akshar scored 26 runs and Harshit Rana scored unbeaten 13 runs with the help of a six. Gill, Hardik and Shivam Dubey had consistently failed. Oman’s three bowlers (Kaleem, Jiten, Faizal) took two wickets each. There was a partnership of 66 runs between Abhishek and Samson, but in the eighth over, India lost the wickets of T20 world number-one batsman Abhishek and number-one all-rounder Hardik in three balls.

Two changes were made in the Indian team. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh were included in the playing-eleven in place of Jasprit Bumrah and recently crowned world number-one bowler Varun Chakraborty.