Romario Shepherd took a three-fer while Brandon King slammed a century to give West Indies their first win of the Super Six stage in an inconsequential Men’s ODI World Cup Qualifiers match with a seven-wicket win over Oman at the Harare Sports Club, here on Wednesday.
Half-centuries from Shoaib Khan and Suraj Kumar helped Oman reach 221/9 as Shepherd took 3/44 in his ten overs. But King played a composed knock of 100 off 104 balls, laced with 15 fours, and with support from captain Shai Hope’s 63, took West Indies over the line with 62 balls remaining.
Electing to bowl first, West Indies got early rewards as Shepherd and Kyle Mayers dismissed Jatinder Singh and stand-in skipper Aqib Ilyas inside the first ten overs. Ayaan Khan and Kashyap Prajapati rebuilt for Oman, but that came to a halt as the latter was run out by Roston Chase.
The run-outs kept hurting Oman throughout their innings with three of their batters, including Shoaib Khan, who made a fighting 53 off 65 balls. But before he was run-out by Akeal Hosein, Shoaib and wicketkeeper Suraj Kumar (50 off 54 balls) took charge of Oman’s recovery.
From 116/6, Shoaib and Suraj took Oman past 200 with an 85-run partnership which saved the blushes for the team. After Shoaib’s fall, Kumar continued to pile on the runs with the tail and completed his half-century off the final ball of the innings.
Apart from Shepherd, Mayers was economical in his seven overs, taking 2/31 while spinners Hosein (0/48), Roston Chase (0/36), Kevin Sinclair (1/42) kept things tight from their end.
West Indies’ didn’t have a great start to the chase as Kaleemullah castled Johnson Charles with a superb delivery, where he beat him for pace in the second over. Keacy Carty looked sedate in his 49-ball 29, before being run out by Sandeep Goud.
But by then, he and King had put on 80 for the second wicket. King then joined hands with Hope to thwart any challenge from Oman’s bowling attack, who lacked penetration, with immaculate ease.
While King fell soon after reaching his hundred, a calm Hope and a free-flowing Nicholas Pooran ensured there were no further hiccups in the run-chase. Hope remained unbeaten on 63 and Pooran on 19 as West Indies went on to register their first win in the Super Six stage.
Brief Scores: Oman 221/9 in 50 overs (Suraj Kumar 53, Shoaib Khan 50; Romario Shepherd 3/44, Kyle Mayers 2/31) lost to West Indies 222/3 in 39.4 overs (Brandon King 100, Shai Hope 63; Kaleemullah 1/49, Bilal Khan 1/54) by seven wickets.
2023070534542
