Kandy, Feb 20 (IANS) Skipper Mitchell Marsh hammered 64 off 33 deliveries and Travis Head 32 off 19 deliveries as Australia thrashed Oman by nine wickets in the 40th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Friday.

With his explosive half-century, skipper Marsh helped Australia finish their campaign in the T20 World Cup on a strong note, underlining the dominance of Australia’s bowling attack over Oman, with Adam Zampa being the standout bowler. The game was one of pure dominance in every aspect of the game; however, this game will not change Australia’s overall result in the tournament.

With Australia winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, they were well and truly on their game, and the tone was set right from the first delivery of the match; Xavier Bartlett took the wicket of Aamir Kaleem off the first ball of the match to send Oman into a tailspin that they were not able to recover from.

Although Jatinder Singh and Karan Sonavale had a 24-run respite, Nathan Ellis broke the partnership in the Power-play with the wicket of Karan Sonavale, and he followed up soon after with the wicket of Jatinder Singh to expose an incredibly weak middle-order for Oman.

Zampa took control in the middle overs. The leg-spinner delivered a stunning ball to dismiss Hammad Mirza in the eighth over. Remarkably, Oman’s top four batsmen were all bowled, a first in T20 World Cup history. With the scoreboard showing 69/5, the innings was in chaos. Wasim Ali fought a lone battle, scoring 32 off 33 balls, but wickets fell regularly. Zampa ended with impressive figures of 4-21. Glenn Maxwell (2-13) and Bartlett (2-27) also provided strong support. Marcus Stoinis and Ellis each took a wicket as Oman was bowled out for 104 in 16.2 overs.

Chasing a modest 105, Marsh (64 off 33) and Travis Head (32 off 19) made quick work of the target. They built a 93-run opening partnership that nearly ended the contest. Their aggressive play ensured there were no setbacks. Australia won by nine wickets, matching England’s record for the fastest chase of a 100-plus target in the tournament’s history.

Brief scores:

Oman 104 all out in 16.2 overs (Wasim Ali 32, Jatinder Singh 17; Adam Zampa 4-21, Glenn Maxwell 2-13, Xavier Bartlett 2-27) lost to Australia 108/1 in 9.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 64 not out, Travis Head 32; Shakeel Ahmed 1-29) by nine wickets

–IANS

hs/bsk/