Oman's Confident Show Spells Good Signs for Cricket

I have never personally followed the initial qualifier stages of cricket world cups before, and so, this being my first, I am perhaps overstating what may be a common sight in cricket: these games in this T20 World Cup 2021 are thrilling, they feature talented teams, and they elucidate tremendous learning potential. Take the case of Bangladesh versus Oman. One would expect a team like Bangladesh who have been in the top 10 teams for years to easily outdo a supposedly minnow team like Oman. Well, in the end, it did seem like a comfortable win, and that’s would the numbers say in the end, but Oman did put on some serious pressure before they lost. 

Out came an Oman team to bowl buzzing with energy and confidence; and an exciting, cheering home crowd right behind them. Apart from being a qualifier game, it had all the makings of an exciting match-up. 

There are quite a few standouts in the game overall. People will take notice of names such as Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, and even the dubatant Fayyaz Butt. One may even argue that youngsters today are trained in such a way that they come ready, and yet it is only human to feel jittery in one’s first ever game of cricket, that too, on a big platform such as the world cup. The diving catch off his own bowling personifies Butt’s zeal to do well, and these are the signs that ensure that the game of cricket is growing. Bilal Khan and Kaleemullah, in both their games, have been exceptional with their pace, their line and length both at the start of the innings and in the death. 

It’s a delight to see talented bowlers bowling toe-crushing yorkers, or to see the stumps flying off. It reminds you of the time when you used to watch a young Brett Lee or Shoib Akhtar bowl. It tells you that these guys, if given enough games and more opportunities on the world stage could become potential Mohammad Shamis or Mitchell Starcs. Maybe it’s all reading into a small game too much, maybe it’s not. Whatever be the case, it’s an exciting contest when you see confident players playing the switch hit over point, or stepping down the track to neatly time the ball over extra-cover for six. 

Such games do reinforce the fact that cricket is indeed growing as a sport, and that there’s plenty of room for more countries to rise and shine the way Afghanistan has done. And though Oman failed at ousting Bangladesh before the main leg of the world cup, we are perhaps witnessing an age of the rise and spread of cricket in budding nations brimming with talent and confidence.

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