ENG VS OMA T20I

That is all from this game. England keep their hopes alive with this win while Oman end their World Cup journey without a win. The action continues in the World Cup. Join us at 6 am IST (12.30 am GMT) as Afghanistan takes on Papua New Guinea. Join us early on for the build up. Till then, cheers!

Jos Buttler, the skipper of England says the tone was set by the bowlers as they took the early wickets and it’s a good job done by the team today. Adds that their was a bit of extra bounce plus the high release of Topley and Jofra challenged the batters a lot. Mentions their bowling is a challenging one and such condition make them even more lethal. Mentions that they were looking to be ultra aggressive with the bat and help the NRR so the fall of wickets doesn’t bother them. Closes by saying that he is not taken away by people counting England out so early and it is not their job to think about it and they’ll be preparing for Namibia in the coming days.

Aqib Ilyas, the skipper of Oman says there was a big collapse in the batting order, the top order has failed in this tournament. Adds the associate teams don't get to play bowlers who bowl around 145 clicks and it plays on the back of the mind. Reckons they were confused with the bat, to hit hard or to defend and feels the English players were somtimes too close to them while fielding. Mentions the bowlers have done well throughout the tournament so can't blame much. Feels they could have finished on a high but they'll look for positives out of this match.

Adil Rashid is the Player of the Match for his brilliant spell of 4 for 11. He is up for a quick chat and says they bowled well with Jofra Archer setting the tone and himself and Mark Wood continuing it. Adds that the ball was turning and the early wickets helped. Mentions that the surface was helpful for the bowlers and it was spinning which helped him a lot. Also says he was looking for a fifer but he feels delighted with the victory. Closes by saying that they are looking to play one game at a time and now they’ll start to prepare for Namibia.

...Presentation next...

In reply, England lost two wickets but as informed earlier, what mattered most was how quickly can they chase it down. Jos Buttler took the job on his shoulders and helped chase it down in 3.1 overs. Just look at the Net Run Rate now, England had a negative NRR of 1.80 and now they stand with 3 points and a NRR of positive 3.08. They have given themselves a shot to go for the next round. Oman on the other hand were completely beaten, cannot write much about them as the defending champions were really on a mission and Oman were taken down by some world-class bowlers.

The victory was never in doubt for England but more importanly how many overs does England eat up was the question! Just 19 balls is what England needed to chase it down. With a negative net run rate, England wouldn't have asked for a better game set up than this. After the horrible start to the campaign and a lot of unwanted noise from outside the ground, England needed this game to go in their favour and the crickeing gods showered them with a huge comprehensive win here. It was set up by the bowlers though. They cooked the Oman batting order and in a blink of an eye all of them disappered. Adil Rashid was the star as he took four wickets while Jofra Archer and Mark Wood ended with three wickets each. The highest score for Oman was 11 by Shoaib Khan.

FOUR! THAT'S A WRAP! Back of a length on the pads, Jonny Bairstow flicks this wide of short fine leg for a boundary to end the game. England wins this by 8 wickets and they have surely done a worl lot of good to their NRR.

FOUR! Jos Buttler takes Bilal Khan down for 22 runs in this over. Fuller one outside off, Jos Buttler slices this up and over cover-point for a boundary to end the over.

SIX! DISPATCHED! Short-pitched at a gentle pace in middle, Jos Buttler pulls this right off the middle of his bat and over the fence towards deep mid-wicket region for a maximum.

FOUR! PItched up in middle, Jos Buttler clears his front leg and slogs this over the mid on fielder for yet another boundary.

FOUR! Short-pitched around the leg, Jos Buttler swivels and pulls this all along the ground for a boundary towards long leg.

Low full toss around off, Jos Buttler punches this towards extra-cover for no run.

FOUR! CRISPLY PUNCHED! Good length around off, Jos Buttler advances down the track and punches this wide of mid off for four.

FOUR! SHort and wide outside off, Jonny Bairstow slashes hard and cuts this over cover-point for a boundary.

Jonny Bairstow is the new man in.