Muzarabani & Co. bounce Oman out in hostile bowling display

Spin may have been the winning mantra for teams heading into Colombo for this T20 World Cup, but Zimbabwe had other ideas. Their seamers shared nine of the ten Oman wickets to fall, setting up a facile win at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Opting to field first, Zimbabwe unleashed its pace battery. The trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans wreaked havoc on the Oman batting unit. Muzarabani got the new ball to seam around sharply, castling skipper Jatinder Singh with an in-ducker. Ngarava followed by removing Hammad Mirza, who handed a catch to wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor.

Oman's trial against the short ball was not a fond one. Muzarabani struck twice in the fourth over, removing Aamer Kaleem and Karan Sonavale in quick succession. Oman found themselves at 24 for 4 by the end of the PowerPlay, and matters worsened when Sikandar Raza cleaned up Wasim Ali.

A 42-run recovery stand ensued between Sufyan Mehmood and Vinayak Shukla, with the latter taking a liking to Brian Bennett's spin. Raza turned back to his pacers, and Ngarava broke the stand with another short ball, the extra bounce forcing a catch for Taylor. Jiten Ramanandi fell in the same over, heaving a short delivery to mid-wicket.

Evans removed Mehmood, who pulled a short ball to deep square leg. Evans wrapped up the innings, with the final wicket capped off by a spectacular diving catch from Bennett at deep mid-wicket. Oman were bowled out for 103.

In response, Tadiwanashe Marumani began positively, striking four consecutive boundaries off left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmad. Sufyan Mehmood struck off his first ball to remove Marumani, and two deliveries later, Dion Myers edged behind to give Oman a brief opening.

Brian Bennett and veteran Brendan Taylor then steadied the chase. Taylor struggled against left-arm spinner Nadeem Khan, but the pair played their percentages well, rotating strike and finding boundaries. A 15-run 11th over from Nadeem shut the door on any Oman comeback.

As Zimbabwe neared the target, Taylor experienced discomfort in his right leg and retired hurt, bringing captain Sikandar Raza to the middle. Raza sealed the win with a boundary, with Bennett left stranded on 48*. Zimbabwe chased down the target in 13.3 overs, winning by 8 wickets.

The victory gives Zimbabwe's net run-rate an early boost ahead of tougher challenges against Australia and Sri Lanka.

Brief Scores: Oman 103 all out in 19.5 overs (Vinayak Shukla 28; Blessing Muzarabani 3-16, Richard Ngarava 3-17) lost to Zimbabwe 106/2 in 13.3 overs (Brian Bennett 48*, Brendan Taylor 31*; Sufyan Mehmood 2-12) by 8 wickets.