England chase 48 in 3.1 overs to outclass Oman in crucial T20 World Cup fixture

England outclassed Oman by eight wickets to win their first game of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound.

The defending champions chased down the 48-run target in just 3.1 overs.

England started the chase with Phil Salt (12) hitting two sixes on the first two balls off Bilal Khan. He was clean bowled on the third ball as he tried to accelerate.

Will Jacks (5) also tried to do the same but couldn't replicate. He was dismissed by Kaleemullah. Skipper Jos Buttler took the charge, scoring 22 runs in the third over. He remained unbeaten on 8-ball 24.

Earlier, Buttler won the toss and opted to field first as England bowl Oman out for mere 47.

Only one batter, Shoaib Khan, reached in the double figures for Oman. He scored 11 off 23 balls.

Adil Rashid was the best bowler for the defending champions, bagging figures of 4/11 while Mark Wood took 3/12 and Jofra Archer also contributed with 3/12.

47 by Oman is the fourth-lowest total in T20 World Cup history.

Lowest totals in ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Uganda: 39 vs West Indies - 2024

Netherlands: 39 vs Sri Lanka - 2014

Netherlands: 44 vs Sri Lanka - 2021

Oman: 47 vs England - 2024

West Indies: 55 vs England - 2021

Meanwhile, England passed Scotland's net run rate as they had to chase the target in 5.2 overs.

Oman have played all of their matches. Their start of the tournament saw a Super Over loss to Namibia, followed by heavy defeats against Australia and Scotland.

England will play Namibia on May 14 and look to win with same intent. If they want to qualify for the Super 8, they need Scotland to lose to Australia since both teams will have five points but due to better NRR, they will qualify.

Line ups

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook,Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer. Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

Oman Pratik Athavale (wk), Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Rafiullah, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemulah, Bilal Khan