Oman Quadrangular Series 2019: Final Day Round-Up

The five-day long Quadrangular series finally came to an end with Scotland registering a convincing win over hosts Oman to claim the top spot in the points table and thereby the trophy.

Earlier in the day, Ireland and Netherlands played out an enthralling match which was won off the last delivery. Ireland's Stuart Poynter hoisted Paul van Meekeren over long-on off the final ball of the match to secure a one-wicket win at the Oman Cricket Academy.

Here, in this article, we will take a closer look at how these matches panned out.

---

Match 5: Ireland vs Netherlands

In the first game of the final day, Ireland were up against Netherlands; a team against whom they had lost five straight T20Is prior to this match. Ireland skipper Paul Stirling won the toss and invited Netherlands to bat first.

Tobias Visee continued his superb form in this match too and struck a brilliant half-century. He added 116 runs with Max O'Dowd for the opening wicket before falling to George Dockrell.

His stroke-filled innings of 78 came off just 36 balls and featured 12 fours and 3 sixes. At 119-1 after 10 overs, Netherlands were set for a big total but they failed to capitalise on this great start. The Dutch managed only 63 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the second half of their innings.

With the wicket staying true, 183 was not that big a target. Though in-form Paul Stirling fell for 1 in the second over of the chase, Balbirnie and Kevin O'Brien brushed off the early loss with a rollicking 86-run second wicket stand. Balbirnie kept Ireland on course after O'Brien fell to Fred Klaassen after making 46 off 30 balls, in the 11th over. Balbirnie was finally dismissed in the 17th over but not before making a brilliant 83 off 50 balls.

Fred Klaassen and van Meekeren bowled brilliantly in the final overs to bring their side back into the match. A total of six wickets fell in the space of 22 balls and the final equation reduced to 6 required off the last 2 balls. On the penultimate ball, Poynter turned down a single only to heave the dumbstruck van Meekeren over the midwicket boundary and seal a remarkable win off the final ball of the match.

Match 6: Scotland vs Oman

Richie Berrington's 47* ensured a stress-free chase for Scotland.

Scotland and Oman faced each other in the final match of the series. Oman, having lost their previous two matches, were placed last in the points table. On the contrary, Scotland still had the chance to finish on top of the table given Ireland's win over Netherlands in the earlier game.

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer won the toss and decided to field first. The hosts were under the pump from ball one, Alasdair Evans producing a maiden-wicket in the first over. He got rid of Naseem Khushi who launched a wild pull straight into the hands of Michael Leask at the square boundary after playing five dot balls on the trot.

Wasim Ali was run out to end the second over, having been caught ball-watching when Jatinder Singh pushed one softly to mid-on. Skipper Jatinder was then cleaned up by debutant Adrian Neill in the fourth over and the scoreboard read 6 for 3 at that time.

From here, Oman never really got back into the game. If it wasn't for Mohammad Nadeem's 29 and Sandeep Goud's unbeaten 31, Oman would not have crossed even the 100-run mark. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 111.

With 112 runs to chase, Scotland started briskly and the match looked headed for an early conclusion. But it was Mohammad Nadeem who would dismiss both Munsey and Kyle Coetzer to put the brakes on the Scottish charge.

When Matthew Cross fell to Bilal Khan off the first ball of the 8th with 68 still needed, the hosts might just have glimpsed a way back into the game. But Richie Berrington extinguished any remaining hopes Oman had of pulling off an upset, making an unbeaten 47 off 29 balls as part of an unbroken 73-run partnership with MacLeod.

Scotland went past the finish line with 27 balls to spare.