In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup First Official Warm Up Match, PNG went up against Oman at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.
Although the PNG Barramundis fought to the end, Oman came out victorious.
The Barras set a target of 137 off their 20 overs off the back of a solid start of 1 for 45 off the six powerplay overs, led by an innings of 28 off 20 balls from Lega Siaka, who ended up top scoring. A mid-innings setback saw the Barras lose 6 for 38 to be on the backfoot at 7 for 86 after 13.2 overs. A late flurry of shots saw Sese Bau (18), Alei Nao (17), and Kabua Morea (13) put on 44 runs off 35 balls for the eighth and ninth wickets.
Bowling second, the Barras started well with Alei Nao (2 for 17 off 3.1 overs) snaring two early wickets, reducing Oman to 2 for 15 in the fourth over. Good spells from CJ Amini (2 for 19 off 3 overs) and Kabua Morea (2 for 17 off 3 overs), saw Oman at 7 for 114 needing 24 runs from the last 16 balls and then 22 runs from the last 2 overs. However, the Oman tail end batters hit out powerfully to finish off the game in the final over, for a close win.
Barramundis Head Coach, Tatenda Taibu, commented, that the boys always give their all, and they kept coming back into the game.
“In the end, as it often happens in the T20 format, one or two overs in either innings can make the difference. “He said.
Taibu said that the team will review, recover and practice over the next two days before the next warm-up against Namibia on Thursday, also at the Brian Lara Stadium.
