DHARAMSALA, India — Alas, it turns out Goliath does largely beat David.
At Dharamsala on Sunday night there was no room for upsets of Biblical proportion, no fairytale ending for Oman as they succumbed to fully-fledged Test side Bangladesh and exited the World T20 tournament.
A Herculean win over Ireland had set the Omanis up for a showdown with the first full-member side they have come across in their history.
But for all the confident talk in the build-up from the Oman camp, the task always looked too gargantuan, even for these plucky, charming outsiders.
Without a doubt, however, Oman will take positives from this experience and will not be defined by their loss but the manner in which they took this group to a decider and the way they went about their cricket.
Also, in Bangladesh they have a clear marker of just how far an associate can go if given opportunity and resources.
“Ultimately, playing against Bangladesh we have learnt a lot from them,” said team manager Jameel Zaidi.
“We did really well in the first six overs of the powerplay were they scored 29 runs but I think after that their experience as a big nation and Test playing country showed.”
Captain Sultan Ahmed was also quick to highlight the whole experience as a learned one.
“I think there are a lot of positives,” he said. “We’ve beaten Ireland and played good cricket in the practice matches where we also beat Scotland and know we’re more ready for the next tournament in Jersey.”
Tamim Iqbal was the man in form, scoring 83* and 47 in Bangladesh’s opening games but he and opening partner Soumya Sarkar were stalled early on.
Sarkar fell victim to Ajay Lalcheta for 12 and at 42-1 in the 7th over, Bangladesh’s start was far from blistering.
At the other end, however, Iqbal was going about his business in the same comfortable, fluid manner of his last two outings.
He eased past 1,000 T20I runs without raising alarm and in Sabbir Rahman had a partner similarly untroubled as they both worked Oman around the wicket at their will.
They took their side to 70-1 at the halfway stage, putting them in a prime position to build on as the singles were picked up and bad balls picked off.
Iqbal went to fifty looking like a man finally in full control of his game and looked to flick a switch after reaching his half century as the left-hander opened up the shoulders and went into full “Beast Mode”.
It was a masterclass in pacing an innings and one that Oman players will do well to take note of when they go back and eventually analyse this performance.
Sabbir eventually departed for 44 and staged a 97-run partnership alongside Iqbal that put Bangladesh way out in front.
But it was Iqbal who will rightly take the plaudits as he became the first Bangladeshi to score a T20I century in an innings of 103* off 63 balls that perfectly highlighted the gulf between the two teams.
Here's the full list of the Super 10s at @ICC #WT20, with @ACBofficials and #BAN joining their respective groups. pic.twitter.com/o47Ij6HEIC
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) March 13, 2016
“We didn’t get off to the best of starts, especially in the first six overs and then when I hit a boundary and six in the seventh over I just batted, I had momentum and just batted,” said Iqbal in unadulterated understatement.
By the time Bangladesh closed out their innings on 180-2, Oman’s task was mammoth and it proved to be too tall an ask for the Middle East men as they fell short by 54 runs on 65-9 as rain once again interrupted proceedings and were first set a revised target of 152 from 16 overs and then 120 from 12.
Just being in this position was an achievement for Oman but here in the HPCA Stadium they were rudely reminded of their standing by a Bangladesh outfit that look to be finding a formula that will see them as contenders over the course of the remaining tournament.
