North Sound [Antigua and Barbuda], June 10 (ANI): After his side’s 7-wicket loss against Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2024, Oman wicketkeeper-batter Pratik Athavale said that they failed to make a good partnership for which they suffered a defeat in the game.
Pratik was the only standout batter for Oman as he played a 54-run knock from 40 balls at a strike rate of 135. He smashed 5 fours and 2 sixes during his time on the crease.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pratik said that they had the game on their hand when they were batting well in the first inning.
“We were batting well earlier, we had the game in our hands. But we couldn’t have a good partnership, we had planned to have a partnership in between. But we couldn’t do it. We were losing wickets quickly. So, we could only target 150,” Pratik said.
He showered praise on Scotland’s openers George Munsey and Michael Jones for playing well in Antigua.
“I won’t say that the bowling wasn’t good. Actually, both their opening batsmen did good batting on that wicket. If we would not have missed those catches, we could have taken ourselves closer to the game. Anything could have happened then,” he added.
When asked about their next match against England, the 27-year-old said they will approach the match with a positive intention.
“Nothing. We will go with a positive intention. Because we have not won a single match in the tournament. So, we will try to do our best. As a team we are doing well and we will try to execute that plan,” he added.
Recapping the match, Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas won the toss and elected to bat first. The wicketkeeper-batter Pratik Athavale scored a stylish half-century, helping their side cross the 100-run mark in 14 overs. Meanwhile, Ayaan Khan’s classy knock pushed Oman to 150/7 after the end of the 20 overs.
Safyaan Sharif (2/40) was the top bowler for Scotland.
During the run-chase, Scotland batter George Munsey along with McMullen brought back their side in the game with some serious hitting. McMullen’s stupendous unbeaten 61-run knock helped Scotland clinch a seven-wicket win over Oman.
Aqib Ilyas, Mehran Khan and Bilal Khan took a wicket each for Oman. (ANI)
