ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023: West Indies post consolation win over Oman; Brandon Kings scores century

King slammed his first hundred in the tournament to lead West Indies to a consolation win as a defeat to Scotland in their last match ended their hopes of reaching the World Cup in India, but they responded in style in Harare.

Romario Shepherd took three wickets as Oman were restricted to 221 for nine from their 50 overs, and King led from the front in reply as the Windies got home with 10.2 overs to spare. Defending a target of 221, Oman got off to a strong start with the ball when Kaleemullah cleanly dispatched Johnson Charles in the second over, outpacing him for pace.

Carty and King put on 80 runs for the second wicket before Carty was run out by Sandeep Goud, but the reliable Hope ended any hopes of an Oman comeback. The West Indies were able to approach the target after King and Hope easily countered Oman’s attack.

King lost the battle shortly after reaching 100, but Hope and Nicholas Pooran made sure there were no more hiccups. As West Indies went on to record their first victory in the Super Six stage, Hope remained unbeaten with 63 and Pooran with 19, respectively.

Earlier, West Indies won the toss and opt to bowl. Hope, who had won the toss for the West Indies, unexpectedly decided to bowl in the Super Six match, which has no bearing on whether or not the player advances to the main event. After receiving the new ball, Kyle Mayers and Romario Shepherd struck quickly, dismissing Jatinder Singh and captain Aqib Ilyas during the Powerplay.

The brilliant Kashyap Prajapati and Ayaan Khan rebuilt for Oman, but as the stand was picking up steam, Roston Chase ran out the latter. Three of Oman’s batsmen, including Shoaib Khan, who scored a valiant 50, were run out during the innings, which continued to damage Oman.

However, Shoaib and wicketkeeper Suraj Kumar helped Oman come back from a deficit of 116/6. With a partnership of 85 runs, the pair advanced Oman past 200 until Shoaib was run out by Akeal Hosein.

Oman finished on 221/9 in a respectable batting effort as Kumar continued to score runs with the tail and reached his half-century off the final ball of the game. The best bowler for the West Indies was Shepherd, who took 3/44 in his 10 overs.

While spinners Chase (0/36), Kevin Sinclair (1/42) and Hosein (0/48) held their ends tight, Mayers was frugal in his seven overs, taking 2/31.

Brief score: Oman 221/9 ( Shoaib Khan 50, Suraj Kumar 53; Romario Shepherd 3-44) vs West Indies 222/3 (Brandon King 100, Shai Hope 63*; Kaleemullah 1-49).