PNG’s captain said batting first gave his side the opportunity to enforce scoreboard pressure on Oman

Toss Oman chose to bowl vs PNG

Zeeshan Maqsood won the toss and hosts Oman will bowl first against PNG in the opening game of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. PNG captain Assad Vala said he would have batted first as well, on a pitch that is expected to favour batters largely.

“The pitch looks dry and we have spin bowlers so we want to make use of it,” Maqsood said. “Later on, it will become better for batting so we want to chase. Our preparation has gone very well. We’re just looking forward to giving our best and qualifying for the next round.”

Vala said batting first gave his side the opportunity to enforce scoreboard pressure on Oman. “Looks like a really good wicket. We would have bowled as well but we have to bat first and we have the opportunity to post a really good total. Our preparation has been really good and we just can’t wait to get on the field and express ourselves. We want to play the way we want to play and express to the world how we play.”

Oman and PNG are in Group B, which also has Bangladesh and Scotland. The top two from the group will progress to the Super 12s round of the tournament.

PNG: Assad Vala (capt), Tony Ura, Charles Amini, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sese Bau, Simon Atai, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Nosaina Pokana, Damien Ravu, Kabu Morea.

Oman: Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Aqib Ilyas, Zeeshan Maqsood (capt), Kashyap Prajapati, Naseem Khushi (wk), Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Sandeep Goud, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan.