All-rounder Marcus Stoinis produced the best performance of his international career to lead Australia to a 39-run victory over Oman in their opening Twenty20 World Cup match.
Stoinis’s prowess with both bat and ball helped Australia out of a tricky situation after a sluggish start in Bridgetown.
The 34-year-old became just the third player in T20 World Cup history to score fifty and take at least three wickets in a single game, after Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) and Shane Watson (Australia).
After being sent into bat by Oman captain Aqib Ilyas, Australia struggled early on and finished with an unconvincing 164-5 in the 20 overs with the bat on the board.
Stoinis scored an unbeaten 67 off 36 balls and hit six sixes, four of which came in the crucial 15th over.
Veteran opener David Warner and Stoinis finally adapted to the pitch suited to spin and at one point put on 102 for the fourth wicket after bowling 30 balls between the boundaries.
Warner, who took Australia’s total T20 tally to 3,155, carried the innings with 51 balls to overtake his former opening partner Aaron Finch (3,120) as Australia’s most successful batsman in the format.
Oman never showed any signs of chasing the score, slumping to 34-4 in the eighth over with Stoinis taking 3-19 along with a brutal performance with the bat.
Ayaan Khan (36) and Mehran Khan (27) put up some resistance for Oman, who lost their opening match of the tournament to Namibia, finishing with 125-9.
In typical Mitchell Starc fashion, the left-arm fast bowler caught Pratik Atavale lbw in the very first over and picked up his wicket for a duck.
But Starc (2-20) had to leave the field after the third over with a lower leg strain that Australia hopes is just cramp.
Stark, who missed more than two days on the trip to the Caribbean, attempted to stretch on the field but was later removed for treatment and further evaluation.
Earlier, star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who had completed five T20I centuries, was run out off the first ball after Ilyas took a flying catch at covers.
Pat Cummins, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League final last month, was rested and Australia replaced him with Tasmanian fast bowler Nathan Ellis.
Australia are attempting to become the first team to win all three of the International Cricket Council’s major trophies simultaneously – One-Day International, T20 World Cup and World Test Championship.
Australia’s next match is against defending champions England in Bridgetown on Saturday.
