India beat Oman by 21 runs in T20 Asia Cup thriller

 India survived a scare to beat Oman by 21 runs in the final group stage fixture of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Friday, 24NewsHD TV reported.

After posting a formidable 188-8, the Indian bowling attack was tested by a spirited Oman chase that fell just short, with the hosts finishing at 167-4.

Oman's openers launched a chase, putting on a solid 56-run partnership. Jatinder Singh contributed a brisk 32 from 33 balls.

The real threat emerged through a magnificent 93-run stand between Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza, which kept the Indian bowlers at bay through the middle overs and brought Oman firmly into contention.

Kaleem top-scored with a brilliant 64 from 46 balls, while Mirza provided strong support with a gutsy 51 from 33.

However, the match turned when Hardik Pandya took a brilliant catch on the boundary to remove Kaleem, and Mirza followed shortly after.

Their departures dashed Oman's hopes, as the required run rate proved too steep for the remaining batters.

The Indian bowling effort was a shared one, with Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya each taking a wicket to secure the hard-fought win.

Earlier,  after an early wicket, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson quickly steadied the innings,  adding a brisk 65 off 35 balls, which brought the total to 72 in 7.1 overs.

Sharma remained the core aggressor and made 38 from just 15 balls. His powerful knock featured two sixes and five fours.

However, Oman roared back with back-to-back wickets and put India in a precarious position at 73-3 in 7.3 overs.

Meanwhile, Samson continued and played an anchoring knock off 56 from 45 balls.

Later on, cameos from Axar Patel (26 from 13) and Tilak Varma (29 from 18) helped the Men in Blue to finish strong.

For Oman, Shah Faisal remained the pick of the bowlers and picked up two wickets. Aamir Kaleem and Jiten Ramanandi supported him well with two scalps a piece.

Today’s fixture marks the final group-stage match of the Asia Cup.

The Super Four stage will commence tomorrow, with the first match to be played between the top two teams from Group B.

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India are set to face each other again in a highly anticipated clash on September 21, adding further excitement to the tournament.
  

Playing XIs

Oman XI: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Shah Faisal, Mohammad Nadeem, Aryan Bisht, Zikria Islam, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava, Jiten Ramanandi

India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav