Abu Dhabi, Sept 20 – India secured their third consecutive win in the Asia Cup by defeating Oman by 21 runs, finishing the league stage unbeaten. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav made strategic decisions to give most of the squad valuable game time ahead of the crucial Super 4 match against Pakistan.
India posted a competitive total of 189 runs, powered by a solid half-century from Sanju Samson (56) and quick-fire contributions from Abhishek Sharma (38 off 15 balls) and Axar Patel (26 off 13 balls). Tilak Varma also made a useful 29 runs lower down the order. Despite brief struggles from Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya, the batting lineup put India in a strong position.
With key bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy rested, India relied on a diverse bowling attack to restrict Oman to 167/4. Kuldeep Yadav impressed with his economical spell of 1/23 in 3 overs, while new faces Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh gained valuable experience. Arshdeep also reached the milestone of 100 T20 international wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to do so.
Oman’s middle order fought hard, with Aamir Kaleem (64) and Hammad Mirza (51) providing resistance, but they fell short chasing a challenging target against the reigning T20 World Champions.
The win not only maintained India’s perfect record in the tournament but also allowed the team management to assess their bench strength as they prepare for the high-stakes encounter against Pakistan.
