Bowlers, Marsh orchestrate consolation Australia win

As much as Oman have shown glimpses of their potential at this T20 World Cup, Australia were always going to be a difficult proposition. The 2021 champions brought the curtains down on a disappointing campaign with a resounding nine-wicket win over Oman in Pallekele.

After the Aussies elected to bowl first, Xavier Bartlett cleaned up Aamir Kaleem with a ripping outswinger off the first ball of the match. Australia struck twice more in the PowerPlay. Nathan Ellis got Karan Sonavale to chop onto his stumps, before Bartlett castled Jatinder Singh.

Adam Zampa then spun a web around the batters, bowling Hammad Mirza and trapping Mohammad Nadeem lbw. Despite Wasim Ali's 33-ball 32, a collapse ensued. Glenn Maxwell picked up a couple of wickets, including his 50th T20I scalp. Zampa completed the clean-up with consecutive wickets to bowl Oman out for 104.

The Mitchell Marsh-Travis Head duo then picked up from where they left off. Three boundaries in the opening over set Marsh on his way. Head thrashed left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed for a couple of boundaries before Marsh continued to butcher the ball. The duo brought up a fifty-run stand, ending the PowerPlay on 73/0 as Marsh reached his half-century.

The boundaries kept coming at a blistering pace. The only moment of excitement came when Shakeel got Head to slog-sweep; wicket-keeper Vinayak Shukla took a juggling catch and celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Siuuu'. Josh Inglis sealed the deal with a boundary.

Australia won with 62 deliveries to spare, catapulting their net run-rate above table-toppers Zimbabwe. It counted for little, however, as they head home before the Super Eights.

Brief Scores: Oman 104 in 16.2 overs (Wasim Ali 32; Adam Zampa 4-21, Glenn Maxwell 2-13) lost to Australia 108/1 in 9.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 64*, Travis Head 32) by 9 wickets.