SE Asia/Pacific 2026 T20 WC Super 6's Day 1

The Super 6 stage starts with the hosts once more in action against their Arab rivals Qatar in the heat of Muscat morning in the mountains of Al Amerat.  They did not impress on Friday so they will be looking to do better this morning against a side coached by one of Tango's mates.  They are batting first.

Game 1 Super 6's - Oman v Qatar @ Turf 1 Al Amerat Oman Sunday 12 October 2025

The weather rarely changes for cricket in Oman.  It is either boiling hot and dry or very occasionally too wet to play.  There's little variation.  This Sunday starts like any other but at least both sides are used to it.

Qatar won the toss and opted to bowl first - not sure whether it is ever a decision to bat first based on the conditions because they do not change and the pitches don't really deteriorate.  However these pitches have been used for 3 games in 4 days and will be used for a number more before this tournament ends on Thursday so it might be a consideration later on.

Oman therefore bat first and they go into this game with the side of;

Jatinder Singh(c), Ashish Odedara, Hammad Mirza, Mohammad Nadeem, Vinayak Shukla(w), Aryan Bisht, Sufyan Mehmood, Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed

Showing only one change form the side of Friday with Sufyan Mehmood (the definite Omani) coming into the side for Aamir Kaleem and for the first time in 12 years of being involved with Omani cricket I will see a full Omani play for their national side live. 

Singh and Odedara open against Baig and it doesn't start well as 5 wides are the first scoring delivery of the match.  However the Qatari allorunder pulls it back as a rash attempt at a boundary shot sees Odedara caught by Jamil off the last ball of the first over without bothering the scorers.  Nadeem is at the crease within the first six balls and one wonders if the policy of going for big shots in the early overs is still in play and whether it will work or not for the Red Machine.

The second over is taken by Ikramullah Khan.  Nadeem gets off the mark with consecutive fours so there is going to be shot making in this Omani innings!!  The score moves on pretty rapidly to 14 for 1 after 2 with most of the coming from the new man.  Baig's next over is tight providing ony 3. 

Mohammed Asim takes the fourth and the Omani skipper looks to stamp his authority on the innings moving past Nadeem with 2 consecutive fours of his own.  It is 28 for 1 after 4.  Qatar turn to Rehman's left arm orthodox to look for a change in fortune but Singh sends him for six and the score to 37 for 1 with 1 over of the 'Powerplay' to come.  

Asim does break the partnership with the first ball of the sixth and his second as he has Nadeem caught by his boewling partner Ur Rehman for 12 from 14 - the Omani bat started well but stalled after that first flurry.  At 37 for 2 in comes Hammed Mirza he gets off the mark but they only move the score by 2 at the end of the 6th.

Rehman  keeps the 'press' on in the 7th as the home side squeeze into the 40s but Singh once again looks to push on and a late 8th over single from Mirza takes Oman over the 50 target. Owais Ahmed takes the 8th before another left arm orthodox bowler in Daniel Archer Louis is introduced by Qatar for the 9th and he produces a tight first one. Oman then become the creators of their own chaos whern in the first ball of Owais Ahmed's next (the 10th) sees Mirza by Imal Liyanage for 6 from 15 at 53 for 3.  The next man to foray to the batting crease is Aryan Bisht.

At the end of the 10th the score has moved to 63 for 3 and another six fromthe skiper off Louis moves it to 72 for 3 an over later.  Jatinder is in 'that' mood.  When he gets in he really does get in and he looks composed and solid in defence while creaming anything loose that is delivered to him.  Ikramullah holds the Qatari line in the 12th and the score crawls to 78.  But Munir's intorduction in 13 produces a flurry of boundaries from the Omani captain as the score moves to 96 for 3 with Singh taking 14 of the 18 runs scored off the over to move himself past 50 and into the 60s at 62 from 34 with a lot of sixes in that number.

The Oman 100 arrives in the 14th as Qatar return to Baig to get them back into this game.  He works with Louis and dismisses Jatinder Singh with the 5th ball of his new spell.  66 from 40 is a captain's inings in these circumstances with 7 fours and 3 sixes.  110 for 4 1ith 5 to go is a strong position as the hero of friday night Vinayak Shukla comes to the crease.  

Asim keeps the runs given up to 7 for the 16th but Ikramullah is not so fortunate as Shukla takes him for 14 and moves the score to 136 for 4 with 2 to go, taking 20 from 9 balls and seeming to get into his stride early again.  Louis  returns and gives away another 11 and the 150 becomes a definite. It comes in the 19th but Bisht does not see the end of the over as the returning Baig bowls Bisht so Faisal walks out to take his place, faces one ball, is cuaght by Zubair Ali and walks back in to make way for Ramanandi as 153 for 5 becomes 153 for 6.  The new man is off the mark with a six from the second ball he faces as the Red machine rolls on reaching 162 with 6 to face.  Baig once more impresses with the ball as he takes 4 for 28 from his four overs.

The last over is bowled by Louis and the Omani pair take a two from the first, the second is a dot and the third a wafted/flashed four past the keeper. They all count.  The back end sees three singles and Qatar will need to find 173 to start their points tally in this part of the tournament.

Ali and Liyanage open once more for Qatar, firstly against the bowling of the tall Faisal. Ali takes him on twice going over the top just inches from the diving fielder's hand.  He gets away with it both times and Qatar take 7 from the first.  The strange short run up medium pace of Shakeel provides the second over.  Qatar have moved to 15 at the end of it but the first ball of the 3rd sees another run out going for a second run on the arm of a boundary fielder (Mirza) where the bat comes off second best as Liyanage is run out for 6 at 15.

Sufyan comes into the game for the 4th over and at 32 he sends Ali on his way LBW and welcomes the new partnership of Munir and Asim to the crease. Shakeel changes ends for the 5th.  it's not as explosive a start as the Omani one but the Qataris can build on what they presently have - though they have to start to do so quickly as the score is a tough one to chase on this pitch.  The score moves to 38 for 2 and after the 6th from Mehmood again it has moved to 42 for 2.  Munir is leading the way but at 16 from 12 he may need to accelerate once they get established and we move into the second half of this innings.  Nadeem Khan is brought into the attack for the latest over and he does not seem to be willing to give away loose runs either.  It is getting harder for the Qataris as the overs count down.

Oman starts to try out it's second string of bowlers as the 7th is taken by Mohameed Nasim and the 8th is bowled by Jiten Ramanandi both new to the attack for this game.  The 50 arrived with a four at the end of the 7th and there is a bit of a revival in the batting as they reach 63 by the end of the 8th courtesy of a six from Munir and have 76 by the end of the 9th with Munir continuing to push on with 32 from 19.  Both Nadeem and Ramanadi went for 13 apiece.

After 10 at 78 for 2 Qatar are not "halfway at halfway".  They still need 98 from 60 balls but they are a whole lot closer than they were just 2 overs ago so the game is still definitely on.  Munir has 33 from 23 and Asim has 20 from 19 as Shakeel starts the second half after the water break (it's hot but there is a breeze blowing across the pitch).  He breaks the partnership as Munir gets a top edge into the infield and he is 'pouched' for 34 from 25 at 80 for 3.  In comes Tanveer.

It's 82 for 3 as Nadeem Khan takes the 12th and 1 ball later, Asim has gone stumped for 21 from 20 thanks to some very sharp work from Shukla behind the stumps and it's 82 for 4 with Baig at the crease with a BIG job on his hands if he is going to save this one needing 91 from 8.4 overs or 52 balls!!  The rate is already at just under 11.  They have the right man at the crease but a) can he stay in long enough while taking risks and b) can others stay with him and contribute themselves to scoring a lot of runs in a small number of overs?

By the middle of the 14th they have moved into the 90s but is the pace quick enough to make a realistic attempt at this score?   They aren't finding the boundary and that is crucial if they are to whittle away at the total.  98 for 4 after 14 means 75 from 36 balls so the rate is climbing.

It gets worse in the 15th when Baig goes for a run a ball 10 at 99 and Jamil is in to partner Tanveer on 8 from 10 - where is the significant batting performance going to come from now?  Ramanandi does seem to take im portant wickets at important times in the second half of these innings.

The 15th sees the 100 arrive but with 30 balls to go and 104 on the scoreboard Qatar still need 69.   Sufyan starts the 16th as part of an attack that does not look like it is going to give away that number of runs in that number of overs.  Over 13 and over consistently does not look likely.

Tanveer 'holes out' making an attempt at the end of the over.  He made 10 but his departure at 107 for 6 is just another nail in the Qatari coffin. Ikramullah comes in as part of an increasingly desperate batting line-up looking at a tremendous ask from them without the real skills to perform it.

Jamil takes over the lead mantle and hits a boundary at the start of the 17th from Fiasal but it is getting into the realms of at least two boundaries an over to get near.  Even as they move the score to 120 the RRR passes 15 and with 18 balls to go it has gone up as they need 50 from 18 with 4 wickets remaining.

Sufyan bowls out in the 18th with a very respectable 26 for 2 and Qatar move to 131 but it's not enough.  39 from 2 requires 9 boundaries and change with Jiten bowling the 19th.  His first sends Jamil packing caught in the deep by Naseem for a fighting 21 from 14. Louis tries to get Ikramullah on strike and doesn't make it as he is caught trying to go high by jatinder Singh so 131 for 6 becomes 131 for 8 and Jiten is on a hat-trick.  He doesn't get it as the scramble a single but it really does not matter any more as the result of this game will be far more important in the Omani grand scheme of things.

Faisal changes ends to bowl out with the 20th Rehman has joined his partner with a thankless task of just staying in for pride.   Ikramullah can't unfortunately as he is caught by Mehmood looking for something and the score becomes 137 for 9 as Owais Ahmed arrives as the last man in with the even more thankless task of staying in for pride in a losing cause.  138 for 9 means a loss by 34 runs and Oman take the points.  Ahmed  survives and Rehman is 3 not out.

A comprehensive and professinal victory for the hosts who controlled that game from about the 5th over and really hardly ever looked like giving up the initiative.  They have two wins and Qatar are still looking for their first points. 

Man of the Match - Jatinder Singh

We now move on to UAE v Nepal  in around an hour.

Game 2 Super 6's - Nepal v UAE @ Turf 2 Al Amerat Oman Sunday 12 October 2025

One of the big games of the tournament as two of the top sides square off against each other with points at stake.  Nepal seem to be the most balanced of sides while UAE seem to operate at a significant level of quiet competence.  They will both be taxed by the other today.

Nepal bat first with the very good Bhurtle and Sheikh as their opening partnership.  They face the equally good Siddique as the Emirati opening bowled with Rohid at the other end. Zahird Ali takes the third.  Bhurtle goes off at his usual speed and Nepal have 23 from the first 18 balls. 

Rohid is back for the fourth as Sheik starts to find his range.and the two bats move the score to 40 by the end of the 5th.  Haider Ali is brought on for that one and the score moves up by 5.  Still no wicket breakthrough which is a worry for the UAE one would imagine. 

Siddique changes ends as the two Nepalese bats chase each other for the higher score.  Sheikh is presently winning by as they zone in on a team 50.  The crowd is less noisy today but still as partisan for the men of Nepal.  The 6over score of 45 fo 0 actually becomes 50 at the start of the 8th bowled by Kaushik and it is followed by te first six of the ininnigs from Bhurtle.  Unfortunately it is also followed quite quickly by Bhurtle's  wicket LBW for 28 fo 26 (with 2 fours and two sixes) at 56 for 1.  Paudel  comes in next and they push on into the 9th against Zahid Ali moving into the 60s.

As the game moves to the halfway point in the first innings, Sheikh is still taking the lead with 36 from 28 while his captain has only taken 2 from the 3 balls he has faced.  He finally finds the boundary at the end of the 10th and Nepal face the second 10 at 73 for 1.

Rohid bowls his third with the 11th Nepal move to 78 for 1.  Haider Ali returns for the 12th.  The wickets are not coming but neither are the boundaries so this score is still well within the reach of the opposition.  Something the Nepalese pair will be very well aware of.  They are not yet taking risks but they may have to come if the boundaries do not start to flow.  A change to pace from Zahid keeps the bats guessing in the 13th, they try a ramp shot but it does not get enough on it to go for four.  The pressure is obviously ramping up as misfields start to occur giving away soft runs.  Theressure is ramping up n both sides as the bats do't get the ball past the infield and the fielding side don't take wickets.  Something has to give at some point.

At the end of the 13th it is 90 for 1 and Parashar is called upon to split Sheikh and Paudel up.  He keeps it tight but they re still there at the end of the over.  A piece of bravery in the field though as a Basil Hameed dives to take a definite six out of the air. He knew he could not catch it but he did make sure it stayed inside the rope and did himself some damage in the process.  He'll take no more part in the game but he has more than played his part in his side with that effort. 

Meanwhile on the field of play, we move to the last 5 overs.  At 15 Nepal have not yet cracked the 100 barrier but the lose Paudel caught by the sub Faroq from the bowling of Rohid for 20 from 19 with Sheikh on on 48 from 44 and the new man Malla with 1 to his name.  They do it at the end of the 16th.  But they then lose Sheik just after he passes 50 as Parashar bowls him on 51 to bring Airee to the crease. Together Malla and Airee reach 'Nelson' at the end of the 17th. 

The superstititous score does its work and Aimee is caught by Mohammed Waseem off the bowling of Haider Ali without a change of score.  In comes Gulsan Jha

Siddique returns to the attack for his third and the crowd nooise ratchets up as he hits four in his early time at the crease.  He goes full on and is not at the crease for long as after another four and a six he is caught by Farooq for 14 from 5 

It's 126 for 5 wih 2 overs to go as the Nepalese pair look to take this score as far as they can.  Zahid Ali is bowling and making it very hard for them to get the ball away.  He then passes the responsibility to Siddique to bowl the last and they hold the line at 140 with Malla  on 4and Kamib on 6.

UAE need 141.  it's not going to be easy but it iS gettable. 

The reply starts with Figy (new name on me) and Waseem facing the pace of Rajbanshi  and Sompal Kami.  Rajbashi sets out his stall with a maiden in the first over. Kami only goes for 2 and the 'press' is on immediately.  Waseemb feels the pressure immediately and he fires the ball to Bhurtleb and is out for 1.  2for  and Sharafu is at the crease.

Dipendra Singh Aimee takes the third over and Sharafu finally breaks free with a six at the end of the over.  11 for 1 becomes 14 for 1 after 4.  It is hard going as Yadav joins the attack.  The bats find a bit of space here and they take him for.  Sharafu takes four and a six from him to move the UAE to 25 for 1.  Rajbanshi comes back after his maiden in the first over but this time, with the help of 5 wides, he allows the bats to take the score to 40 with Alishan Sharafu leading the way with 29 from 17.

The Arab bats move to 48 by the end of the 7th over from Gulsan Jha and move beyond 50 via a single from Figy off Lamichhane  Sharafu then ends the over with another six. 

Lamichhane takes the game to the end of the 10th. The UAE have 75 for the early loss of only one wicket. Sharafu haspushed to 49 from 32 while Figy who has been there from the start has a paltry 18 from 25.  

It's a run a ball game and that always benefits the batting side they need 66 from 60 balls with 9 wickets in hand. The second ball of the 11th is 6 of them taking Sharafu to 55 from 35 off Yadav.

In the 12th Singh Airee looks to redress the balance as he takes Figy out of the equation stumpedby Aasif Sheikh for 19 from29 with 2 boundaries.  The over ends at 85 for2 with the new man at the crease being Chopra.

88 for 2 means the batting side have to get 53 runs from 7 overs which seems easy but the Nepalese are never really out of a game and Airee bowls Sharafu with the first ball of the 14th to put it all back in the melting pot again.  This game just ebbs and flows as does the crowd in terms of noise levels.  No run is safe unless it is a six and even then the fielder will dive to stop  a boundary if at all possible.

Kaushik who replaced the important Sharafu is not that important himself I'm afraid as he is caught by Nandan Yadav off the bowling of Gulsan Jha leaves again with 2 at the start of the 5th at 91 for 4 replaced by Parashar.  With 5 to go the progress isneither fast or slow.  It is not fast enough to put this game out of Nepal's reach or slow enough to make the total unachievable by the UAE batting line-up.  At 96 for 4 it si 45 runs in 4.5 overs or 6 wickets.

It becomes 5 wickts at the same scoreas Lamichhane removes Chopra with no addition.  Hammed comes in and is bowled first ball... andthe crowd goes wild.  THe hat-trick ball is defended but the pendulum keeps swinging and it could just be swinging Nepal's way.

The 100 arrives at the start of the 17th bowled by Kami.  The UAE pair of Parashar on 14 from 8 and Zahid Ali on 4 from 4 need 27 from 18 at 140 for 6.  Lamichhane bowls the 18th with the UAE probaly having one over left to make this one definitely theirs - this over.  One big over would take the pressure away. It doesn't come and this one it down to the wire.

Yadav takes the penultimate over at 120 for 6. It's 21 from 12.  It's 19 from 10.  It's 18 from 9.  It's 17 from 8.  It's 16 fom 7.  It's a six from Parashar and they need 10 from 6!!

Airee takes the last and a single is followed by a dot which is followed by a six.  The crowd is silenced as the ask becomes 3 from 3.  But Parashar holes out in the deep so Haider Ali arrives needing 3 from 2.  They put it into No Man's Land and look to run one but Haider does not make his ground so the last man in Siddqueis at the non striker's end and the y need 3 from the last ball.  They hit it and run one but Zahid Ali slips coming back for the second and his partner is run out at the other end.  

Man of the Match - Dipendra Singh Airee

NEPAL win by ONE run..  and this place really does go NUTS!!  What a game that was!!

Nepal's knickname is the "Cardiac Kids" and they certainly showed why tonight!

Game 3 Super 6's - Japan v Samoa @ Turf 1 Al Amerat Oman Sunday 10 October 2025

Japan will bat first in this evening fixture on the first official day of the Super 6's even though it is Japan's second game at this level after having played Nepal on Friday.

Samoa won the toss and decide to bowl first so Kadowaki-Fleming and Anand come out to open against Soloman Nash  and then Caleb Jasmat  the Samoan captain.  They hit 17 off the first two overs and are going at 9.9 an over by the time they have 28 after 3.  Most of them, as usual are coming from Fleming.  Once more he shows just what a clean hitter of a cricket ball he is.

As the Japanese openers move into the 6th over they also move into the 40s and as Fatu Itai finishes what is his first they have moved to 44.  Mailata bowls his second in the 7th and keeps them in the 40s and Visser opens his account with the 8th looking to do the same.  Unfortunately Fleming has other ideas and brings up the 50 with a four to take the score to 53 and then a six to move it to 59.

This is the first time these two bats have had a longish time together and they are now chasing each other to sdee who can score the most. But it ends when Mailata sends Fleming from the field LBW at 70 for 1 with 35 from 31 at the end of the 9th.

Out comes Ravichandaran and on comes Safu-Tiai to bowl the 10th and we take the water break with 73 for 1 on the board and Abishek Anand as the bat in charge for the first time in this competition with 33 from 27.  They have built on these types of starts before so they've shown what is possible.  Can Samoa chase a big total?  Well they have ex Kiwi Ross Taylor in their side so they should have the capability but he hasn't been obvious in any game yet.

It's a day for seeing unexpected things.  it's the first time I've eveer seen a fielder come THROUGH an advertising hoarding.  Chasing down a probable boundary, Kurtis Hynam-Nyberg (I think) didn't just collide with the hoarding, he demolished it.  He is walking OK but is obviously dazed and confused.

Meanwhile on the field of play, Jasmat sends Ravichandaran from the midlle at 96 for 2 in the 13th (caught behind for 12 from 9) and out comes Rehman to replace him.  He starts with a boundary to move to 100.  A six in the 15th takes Anand  past 50 to 52 from 38 at 114 for 3 and with 5 to go the Japanese are looking at something over 140 at 118 for 3.

The 16th is a significant over however where Anand and Rehman are both dismissed.  Takahashi replaces the first to go and Ito-Davies is in for the second.  Nash bowls and Anand is caught by Sululoto for 55 from 42 with 3 fours and 4 sixes at 118 for 3.  Then at the end of the over Rehman is bowled by Nash for 10.

The over ends at 127 for 4 but neither of the two coming in are willing tohanfg around and they have moved the score on to 146 for 4 by the end of the 17th as Takahashi takes 16 off 5 balls of Jasmat's return. However Japan lose Ito-Davis at the start of the next over caught again by Sululoto off the bowling of Visser and Sukarano-Thomas takes his place in the 18th.  

Another Takahashi six takes the score over 150 to 152 as the bat moves to 30 from 12.  Nash takes the penultimate over.  With 8 balls to go the score is 156 for 5, they take 2 and finish the 19th with a slash and miss.  

The 20th will be bowled by Jasmat.  The first yields a single, the second nothing and the third is a wicket as  Takahashi  gowes caught in the deep for a 'brisk' 2 runs a ball 30 from 13. Declan Suzuki-McCombe is in at 161 for 6.  He swings across everything (in all his innings) but he squeezes out a single to go to 162 with Suzuki on 1 and Thomas on 10.  

Samoa need 163

And off we go Visser and Solia open for the South Sea Islanders against Sakurano-Thomas and Charles Hinze.  It's a slow start with only 5 runs coming in the first 12 balls.  But then they start to move and by the end of the 4th over Solia has opened his shoulders to add 18 from 10 while Darius Visser has put bat to ball for 13 from 15.  Ravichandaran bowls the 5th and it ends at 38 for 0.

Rahman is on for the first time for the 6th but the 50 does not arrive until Ito-Davis' 7th when Samoa move to 51 without loss.  Ravachandran changes ends for the 8th.  Solia takes a look and send his third into the road behind the sight screen.  It all works until the last ball which Solia does not get all of and it goes straight into the hands of the square fielder (Rahman) on the boundary.  He goes for an important 41 of 23 (with 3 of each fours and sixes) at 66 for 1.  He is also an important wicket for Japan because he was THE set bat.

Suguya-Slater is on as Mialata joins Visser while Hinze follows him to take the game to the 10th over.  He gets success as he gets rid of Visser caught Slater for 27 from 29 with 3 fours.  He is replaced by the captain Jasmat and at 10 Samoa are 73 for 2 needing 91 from 60 balls.

Takahashi takes the 11th and Jasmat goes for him until Mailata simply flips one behind himself and is caught for  8 from 10 at 83 for 3 - a really weak dismissal which has been unusual in most matches up to now.  In comes Taylor with a bit of a job to do. 

Taylor sixes Samoa to 97 for 3 off Takahashi at the end of the 14th and then Jasmat sixes Suzuki to move to 103 for 3 from the first ball of the 15th.  It all looks promising but the skipper then goes the very next ball caught by Fleming when the two six start had looked so good.  It's 113 for 4 with Sululoto in the middle with Ross Taylor.  Samoa need to motor now as they require 56 from 28 at 107 for 4.  But Sululoto's stay is far too short to make any difference as he is out for 2 from 6 in the 16th and Fatu Tiai takes his place against Declan Suzuki who complained that Ross Taylor had more names than runs.. 'pot calling kettle black' perhaps?

Singles are all they are getting and singles just aren't making a dent in how far they are behind the rate.  They need boundaries as they need nearly 3 runs a ball to chase this down.  121 for 5 after 17 means 42 from 18.  A four first ball starts the move towards it and a Tiai six next keeps the momentum going.  It makes Rahman overt compensate and bowl a wide - every little helps but the next ball also goes for six.  Suddenly they need 25 from 15 and after the next ball it's 19 from 14!!  There's still 2 balls of the over to go.  The next is a single and Rahman must be glad to see the big Samoan off strike.  Taylor gets 2 to finish the over and with 2 to go the total is much more realistic at 16 from 12.

Suzuki takes the 19th and a single gets Fatu Tiai off strike. Taylor gets nothing from the next and takes a single from the third.  It's 13 from 8 but then Taylor gets under one and is caught in the midfield without scoring.  So... 13 from 7.  Here we go again.  Wicketkeeper French has arrived and he glances a four to put the total in single figures.  It's 9 from 6 to win or 4 wickets to go down in 6 balls.

Anything seem spossible tonight.  It is Slater to bowl and Samoa have gone past 150 without most of us noticing.  They take 2 from the first and get nothing from the second.  7 from 4.  They get nothing from the third and it is 7 from 3.  Fatu Tiai goes for gold and is caught instead so it is 156 for 7 as Tiai  leaves with a significant 34 from 17 and is replaced by Soloman Nash.  They run a single so a six is the only shot with French on strike.  He hits a single and Japan win to great enthusiasm from every one of their players.  Great game.  Shame someone had to lose that one.

Man of the Match - Abishek Anand

Japan take the points and on the general play they probably deserved it for overall consistency.