Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Gore, Hutchinson fightback in vain as USA lose again. USA registered their seventh successive defeat in CWC League 2
USA registered their seventh successive defeat in CWC League 2
USA slid to their seventh consecutive defeat in the ICC World Cup League 2 at the hands of Oman. In a game full of lapses and goof ups, Oman, fortunately, erred on the right side of things to chase USA's challenge of 180 with two balls to spare. USA found themselves in a hopeless situation at 96 for 8 before making a late recovery and giving their bowlers a bit of a shot. While Oman batted with a sense of indolence and let the game meander to the final over, they slipped and found themselves needing 24 off 19 deliveries, with only 4 wickets to go.
Earlier in the day, USA got off to the worst possible start when Bilal Khan sent back Steven Taylor in the first over of the innings with a ball that held up in the wicket as Taylor could only manage a check drive straight to mid-off. The fiery Bilal Khan came back in his second over to have Monank Patel caught at short mid-wicket. Kaleemullah put an end to debutant Dominique Rikhi's stay at the crease by having Rikhi pinned in front to a fuller delivery. The wickets continued to fall in heaps as they found themselves down in the doldrums at 48 for 5 with the fall of Sushant Modani and a mindless run out of Sanjay Krishnamurthy.
Jaskaran Malhotra and Nisarg Patel held fort for about 10 overs with an aim to consolidate the crippling innings. Malhotra tried to break the shackles by going for an ugly hoick over cow corner off a ball that straightened after pitching, only to lob an easy catch to cover off the bowling of Mohammad Nadeem. Nisarg followed him a couple of overs later with a careless prod outside the off stump, that went straight to the keeper off Ayan Khan.
The veteran duo of Elmore Hutchinson and Karima Gore came together in the 27th over with the score reading 96 for 8. The 39-year-old Hutchinson, who has the knack to hit the big shts, wasted no time in going after the Oman bowlers. Oman introduced Bilal Khan to clean up the tail, but Hutchinson and Gore took on the Oman spearhead, looting 13 runs off his over. Hutchinson got stuck into left arm spinner Ayan Khan, bludgeoning a six over cow corner and one straight over his head.
Just as USA were inching to get themselves out of the rabbit hole, Nadeem had Gore trapped in front to an in-dipping delivery. Gore departed with a valiant 44 as USA hardly were barely out of the woods at 162 for 9. Hutchinson and Saurabh Netravalkar could only add 16 more runs to USA's tally as a witless run out left Hutchinson stranded at 49.
Explosive opening batsman Jatinder Singh continued from where he left off against Nepal. On the back of a dazzling 60-ball hundred, Singh clubbed a six off Netravalkar on the first ball of the innings. He followed it up with a boundary, neatly clipping one on the onside off the third ball. Netravalkar struck on the final ball of the over as Shoaib Khan ended up playing the wrong line. Khan was LBW off a classic left arm pacer's delivery, swinging into the right hander and straightening off the wicket to hit him on the knee roll.
Singh couldn't repeat his heroics of the previous night as Netravalkar came back with a vengeance in his next over to have Singh chop one onto his off stump. Ayan Khan and Zeeshan Maqsood took a very lackadaisical approach towards their chase of 179. The pair showed no real intent w, nor did they look keen to pierce the gaps on offer on the field. USA persisted with some tight bowling with their spinners. The pair added 37 runs in just under 14 overs before Khan decided to go after Taylor, holing out at deep extra cover for a 56 ball 18. Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem kept going with the same blueprint to trudge the innings forward. At 82 for 3, seemingly tired of the mundane proceedings, Maqsood chanced his arm unsuccessfully against Kenjige in the 28th over as debutant Rikhi pulled off a tumbling catch on the long on boundary.
Wicket-keeper batsman Suraj Kumar promptly pummeled one flighted delivery over the long off fence off Kenjige and followed it up with a swish over midwicket for another huge blow off Krishnamurthy. Nadeem departed off a painstaking 32 off 66 balls trying to fish one outside off of Netravalkar. Oman found themselves in murky waters when Hutchinson castled Suraj Kumar with 36 needed off 43 and 4 wickets in hand.
Dropped catches and USA's fascination to keep bowling their paceman cost them the game in the end as Netravalkar and Hutchinson went for 10 and 13 runs each in the 47th and 49th over respectively. Hutchinson's 13-run over effectively had the USA drop their shoulders with Oman needing to score only 3 in the final over. Netravalkar and left arm spinner Nisarg Patel bowled immaculately given the dewy conditions on offer.
USA would hope to end their embarrassing losing streak in the next game of the tri series against Nepal on Friday.
