Amid the anticipation, the 2021 edition of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup finally got underway with the qualifying round on Sunday (October 17).

Oman crushed Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets in the opening match of the competition at Al Amerat Cricket Ground.

Asked to bat first, Papua New Guinea posted a below-par 129/9 in 20 overs. Skipper Assad Vala was the lone warrior with the bat, scoring 56 off 43 balls.

Captain Zeeshan Maqsood starred with the ball for Oman, claiming four wickets by conceding 20 runs in his four overs. Bilal Khan (2-16) and Kaleemullah (2-19) were also economical with the ball and picked up two wickets each.

In reply, Oman rode on half-centuries from openers Jatinder Singh (73* off 42 balls) and Aqib Ilyas (50* off 43 balls) to overhaul the target with 38 balls to spare.

Brief Scores:

Papua New Guinea 129/9 in 20 overs (Asad Vala 56; Zeeshan Maqsood 4-20) lost to Oman 131/0 in 13.4 overs (Jatinder Singh 73*, Aqib Ilyas 50*) by 10 wickets

In the second game of the showpiece tournament, Scotland registered a thrilling six-run victory over Bangladesh at the same venue.

Invited to bat first, Scotland posted 140/9 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Chris Greaves’ 28-ball 45.

For Bangladesh, Mahedi Hasan was the stand-out bowler, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs in his four overs. Shakib Al Hasan (2-17) and Mustafizur Rahman (2-32) also returned with impressive bowling figures.

Chasing the target, Bangladesh could manage 134/7 in their stipulated 20 overs. It was a disappointing performance with the bat as Mushfiqur Rahim was the top scorer with 36-ball 38.

Bradley Wheal (3-24) and Chris Greaves (2-19) were the pick of the bowlers for Scotland, claiming five scalps between them while Mark Watt (1-19) and Josh Davey (1-24) took wicket apiece.

Cricket experts on Twitter lauded the Scotland bowlers as they held their nerves to take their team over the line.

Check out the reactions: