Kandy, Feb 20 (IANS) Australia ended their campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on a winning note, with a commanding nine-wicket victory over Oman in a Group B clash at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Friday.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh hammered 64 off 33 deliveries and Travis Head 32 off 19 deliveries as Australia thrashed Oman by nine wickets in the 40th match.
With his explosive half-century, skipper Marsh helped Australia finish their campaign in the T20 World Cup on a strong note, underlining the dominance of Australia’s bowling attack over Oman, with Adam Zampa being the standout bowler. The game was one of pure dominance in every aspect of the game; however, this game will not change Australia’s overall result in the tournament.
Electing to bowl first, Australia were well and truly on their game, and the tone was set right from the first delivery of the match; Xavier Bartlett took the wicket of Aamir Kaleem off the first ball of the match to send Oman into a tailspin that they were not able to recover from.
Zampa took control in the middle overs. The leg-spinner delivered a stunning ball to dismiss Hammad Mirza in the eighth over. Remarkably, Oman’s top four batsmen were all bowled, a first in T20 World Cup history. With the scoreboard showing 69/5, the innings were in chaos. Wasim Ali fought a lone battle, scoring 32 off 33 balls, but wickets fell regularly. Zampa ended with impressive figures of 4-21. Glenn Maxwell (2-13) and Bartlett (2-27) also provided strong support. Marcus Stoinis and Ellis each took a wicket as Oman was bowled out for 104 in 16.2 overs.
Numbers game after Australia v Oman match:
5 – In the history of T20Is, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell becomes the 5th player to score 2000 runs, claim 50 wickets, and hold 50 catches. Mohmmad Nabi of Afghanistan, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, Hardik Pandya of India, and Virandeep Singh of Malaysia are the other four.
4/21 – The bowling figures of Adam Zampa (4/21). It was the 4th occasion when Zampa claimed 4 or more wickets in an innings of the T20WC, which are the most 4-fers claimed by a bowler. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan), Rashid Khan ( Afghanistan), and Anrich Nortje (South Africa) have taken three 4-fers in the T20 World Cup.
44 – The number of wickets taken by Australian leg-spinners in the T20WC. After Shakib Al Hasan (50) of Bangladesh, he is now the second most successful bowler in the history of the T20 WC.
6 – Australian captain Mitchell Marsh, who scored an unbeaten 53 in the powerplay, becomes the 6th batter overall and the first Australian to hit a 50-plus score in the powerplay of a T20WC innings. Stephan Myburg (Ned), Litton Das (Ban), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, and Ishan Kishan (Ind) are the other five who completed their half-century in the powerplay at the T20WC.
9.4 – Australia, who chased 105 runs, emulated the record of England, who also chased successfully over 100 runs in 9.4 overs in a T20WC inning
13 – The number of half-centuries scored by Mitchell Marsh (64*) in 85 matches. It was his 4th fifty plus score in 21 matches of the T20WCs.
73/0 – Was the score of Australia in the powerplay? This was their second-best score in the powerplay of a T20 WC innings. Before this, they scored 74/1 against Namibia in North Sound and 74/2 against England in Bridgetown in the 2024 T20WC.
5 – After Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik of Pakistan, Rohit Sharma (India), and Shai Hope of the West Indies. Mitchell Marsh is the 5th captain in T20WC history to hit successive 50-plus scores.
10 – After Bangladesh, Oman became only the 2nd country to face 10 successive defeats in the T20WC
6 – Adam Zampa won his 6th MOM award. After Virat Kohli (8) of India. He is now the second player to win the maximum Man of the Match award in the T20WC.
–IANS
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