(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Experienced Vaibhav Wategaonkar slammed a half-century (72) and the Oman bowling quartet of Jay Odedara, Bilal Khan, Khawar Ali and Ajay Lalcheta, struck at regular intervals as hosts Oman cruised to massive 117-run victory over the visiting US in the opening ODI match of the three-match series at Al Amerat on Monday.
The visitors opted to bowl first in windy and overcast conditions and reaped early success as the hosts lost its openers - Khawar Ali (14) and Jatinder Singh (8) – cheaply (52 for two).
No 3 batsman Aaqib Ilyas (31), who was settling well, was forced to retire hurt and Zeeshan Siddiqui departed early to leave Oman struggling at 74 for three. Skipper Sultan Ahmed (28) and Wategoankar then began the recovery with a 49-run partnership before Ahmed was dismissed. Wategaonkar continued to impress with his selection of strokes and shared a crucial fifth-wicket partnership of 53 runs with Ajay Lalcheta (33).
However, the exit of Lalcheta exposed the Oman tail, which could hardly contribute much and the hosts were bowled out for a modest total of 225 in 50 overs.
Roy Silva claimed three wickets for 36 while Elmore Hutchinson and T K Patel bagged two wickets each for the visiting side.
Chasing a challenging target in tricky conditions, US had a disastrous start and was soon tottering at 30 for five in the tenth over as Bilal Khan and Ajay Lalcheta ran through the top and middle order with two wickets each. Later Odedara tightened the noose with his three-wicket haul and Khawar picked two as US folded up for a meagre 108 in the 31st over. Ibrahim Khalil top-scored with 37 off 66 balls.
Brief scores: Oman 225 all out in 50 overs (Wategaonkar 72, Lalcheta 33, Ilyas 31; Silva 3-36, Hutchinson 2-43, Patel 2-44) beat US 108 all out in 30.4 overs (Ibrahim Khalil 37, Odedara 3-29, Khan 2-15, Lalcheta 2-15, Khawar Ali 2-32).
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