Scotland finished the Men’s World T20 Qualifier in the fifth position after beating Oman by 5 wickets in the fifth-place play-off match at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai.
Batting first Oman got a big blow in the third over when their hero from the previous match Jatinder Singh was caught behind off Alasdair Evans. However, their other opener Khawar Ali top-scored with 43 off 29 balls. There were contributions from Mehran Khan (29) and Aqib Ilyas (23) however Scotland bowlers ensured that there were wickets at regular intervals. Evans finished his quota with three wickets for 36 runs and also got good support from the left-arm spinner Mark Watt who conceded only 22 runs in his four overs for a wicket.
Lots of Oman hopes were on Bilal Khan who gave them a perfect start by Scalping Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer for a duck in the last ball of the first over. However, the new batsman Matthew Cross played a brilliant inning to take Scotland to victory. The keeper-batsman was solid from the start and his unbeaten 61 runs came off 45 deliveries with eight fours. He built small partnerships with George Munsey (17), Calum MacLeod (15), and Richie Barrington (14) before adding a decisive partnership of 61 runs with Michael Leask which turned the match towards Scotland. Leask smashed a quick 21-ball 38 with three fours and two maximums. But then his dismissal in the 17th over off Bilal gave some hope to Oman.
Scotland still required 30 runs. Cross ensured that he kept hold of one end as the new batsman Tom Sole hit two boundaries to remain not out with 13 off 8 balls. However, Cross gave the finishing touch with consecutive boundaries off Bilal Khan in the last two deliveries of the 19th over to register their victory with one over to spare.