Fifty for Samson, India eye late impetus
Dube also holes out, for 5, while going for a six, while Samson has got to his fifty off 41 balls. It's been a start-stop innings from Samson so far. Tilak, though, gets cracking with some reverse-hits and big hits down the ground. India are 167 for 5 in 17 overs. With SKY to come in next at No.8, India will aim to hit full throttle in the last three overs.
India keep attacking
Axar Patel has just smashed left-arm spinner Kaleem for a slog-swept six over midwicket. He throws his bat at the next ball and snicks it behind to the keeper for 26 off 13 balls. Two balls later, Samson slashes Kaleem for four. Samson has moved to 43 off 33 balls. India are 125 for 4 in 12 overs.
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Abhishek does Abhishek things
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India lose Abhishek, Hardik in the same over
Abhishek was on 21 when he tickled one behind only for the keeper to do it and for the umpire to deem it as wides. He adds 17 to his tally before nicking another one behind, with the keeper making no mistake this time.
Ramanandi darts it full and wide of off, gets it to nip away even further. Abhishek flays at it and edges it behind. In the same over, India lose Hardik, who was promoted ahead of SKY, for 1.
Ramanandi drew a weak chip from Samson off a slower variation. Samson simply chipped it back to the bowler, who can't cling onto the return catch but manages to finger-tip it back onto the stumps, catching Hardik short.
India are 73 for 3 in the eighth over. Axar has been bumped up to No.5, ahead of Tilak and SKY.
Suryakumar Yadav has never batted below no.5 in T20Is, notes our statsman Namooh Shah
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Abhishek gets a lifeline
Abhishek is on 21 when he tickles a leg-side delivery from Nadeem behind to the keeper, who drops it. Umpire Raveendra Wimalasiri, though, deems it as wides. Abhishek quickly puts that behind him and cracks Nadeem for back-to-back fours. He has raced away to 38 off 14 balls; India are 60 for 1 in six overs
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Abhishek attacks Shakeel
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Left-arm spinner Shakeel got away with just one ball to Abhishek in the opening over. But he gets taken for a six and two fours in four balls in his second over. Shakeel is operating from round the stumps, aiming to drag it away from the left-handed Abhishek, but the batter still brings it within his reach and pumps the left-arm spinner away. India are 22 for 1 in three overs.
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Gill castled, Samson in at No.3
After hitting hard lengths with his first two balls in the second over, Shah Faisal goes much fuller. He operates from left-arm over, threatens to take this one away from Gill, but it swings back in to breach his defences and floor the off stump. Faisal wheels away in celebration and savours the moment. Gill gone for 5 off 8 balls. After chalking up two DNBs in this Asia Cup, Samson walks out to bat at No.3.
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Left-arm spin vs Abhishek
Shakeel was Oman's most economical bowler, going into this game, having an economy rate of under five. Despite the presence of Abhishek at the top, Jatinder tosses the new ball to Shakeel once again. Shakeel fires a quick dart first ball and pings the pad, but it had pitched outside leg. Oman review in vain.
When Shakeel overpitched to Gill, he stretched forward and crunched him to the left of long-off for four. Good over from the spinner, nevertheless. India 6 for 0 in 1 over
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India rest Bumrah, opt to bat
Toss India opt to bat vs Oman
India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bat against Oman in the last league fixture of the Asia Cup, in Abu Dhabi. With this being a dead rubber - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have qualified for the Super Four - India experimented with their combination, resting their bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. They handed Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh their first games of the tournament.
With Abu Dhabi less conducive to spin than Dubai in recent times, India picked only two specialist spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel though Abhishek Sharma can also pitch in with left-arm spin, if needed. Arshdeep, who returned to the XI, is on the brink of a milestone: he is just one strike away from 100 T20I wickets. He is set to become the first Indian to the landmark.
Suryakumar explained that India chose to bat to test their depth. "We've not batted [first] in this competition and we want to know our depth. having game-time is important going into Super Fours," he said.
Oman also made two changes, with Zikira Islam and Mohammad Nadeem coming in for Wasim Ali and Hassnain Shah.
Oman captain Jatinder said that they lack experience and exposure at this level and are keen to compete against India. This is the first international game between Oman and India.
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Kuldeep Yadav
Oman: 1 Aamir Kaleem, 2 Jatinder Singh (capt), 3 Hammad Mirza, 4 Vinayak Shukla (wk), 5 Shah Faisal, 6 Zikria Islam, 7 Aryan Bisht, 8 Mohammad Nadeem, 9 Shakeel Ahmed, 10 Samay Shrivastava, 11 Jiten Ramanandi
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When India A faced Oman
Under Tilak's captaincy, India A faced a Jatinder-Singh led Oman side in the Emerging Asia Cup in Al Amerat last year. Abhishek Sharma and MP-born Oman wristspinner Samay Shrivastava were also part of that game.
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Welcome!
The Super Four teams have been locked in: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. So, the final game of the league phase of the Asia Cup is a dead rubber. But both India and Oman will be looking to use this fixture as prep for upcoming challenges.
While India's batters will want some time in the middle before round 2 vs Pakistan, in the Super Four, Oman will aim to compete against India and tune up for the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier. This is India's first game in Abu Dhabi this tournament and with this being a dead rubber, there could be a change or two in India's line-up. This is also the first meeting between India and Oman in international cricket.
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