Asia Cup 2025 | Twitter reacts as Pakistan bundle out Oman for 67 to start their campaign with a win

‌Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first at the Dubai International Stadium, and got a bit of a surprise in the first innings as Saim Ayub was dismissed for a duck in the first over by Shah Faisal. The Oman bowlers had kept the brakes on the scoring rate at the start and barely made any errors on the field apart from dropping Sahibzada Farhan in the second over. However, Farhan, along with Mohammad Haris, made sure that the Green Shirts finished on a decent score of 47/1 at the end of the power play. The two batters increased the scoring rate in the middle overs, with Haris playing the aggressor and Farhan playing the anchor role at the other end. Both batters put on 85 runs for the second wicket until Farhan’s calm and composed knock came to an end in the eleventh over, after giving a simple caught and bowled chance to  Aamir Kaleem in the 11th over. Despite the wicket, Pakistan were still in a commanding position with the score reading 89/2. While it seemed like Pakistan would get to a competitive total, Kaleem returned for another over and not only got the prize wicket of Haris on a score of 66 but also dismissed Pakistan skipper Salman Agha on a juicy full toss, which the latter hit straight down the throat of deep mid-wicket. With these three wickets, the Pakistan team was suddenly in a tricky position at 102/4. The runs started to dry up for the Asian giants, with Hasan Nawaz and Fakhar Zaman struggling to get going in the next four overs. Nawaz’s struggles eventually came to an end in the 17th over. With only 23 runs coming in the next 24 deliveries, the Oman bowlers continued to dominate the middle phase as the score read 125/5. While it seemed like Pakistan might be restricted to a below-par score, Fakhar began to find his feet and was supported by a crucial cameo by Mohammad Nawaz. The Men in Green managed to add another 35 runs in the last three overs, which pushed the score to 160/7 after 20 overs. 

The Omani innings did not have the best of starts with the bat as well. Though there were some attractive shots by Hammad Mirza and Kaleem, which surprised Shaheen Afridi who started with two slightly expensive overs with the new ball but failed to deal with the spin of Saim Ayub, who dismissed both the opening batters, Jatinder Singh and Kaleem, as the associate nation was restricted to 40/2 in the first six overs. There was a sudden collapse straight after the power play as Sufiyan Muqueem and Nawaz created havoc in the middle overs. While Muqueem took the wickets of a well-set Mirza and Nadeem, Nawaz also contributed with a wicket, putting  Oman in a precarious position at 49/6. The game was done and dusted as Shaheen Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, and Abrar Ahmed cleaned up the tail to bundle out Oman for 67, as the South Asian giants started their campaign with a 93-run win.