Mighty Oman conquer their Everest

Seldom has a full toss provoked such delirium.

When an ugly delivery from Max Sorenson sailed over the stumps and between Niall O’Brien’s legs, Oman’s players ran onto the field with joy.

Quick Single: Oman stun Ireland for maiden victory

In the sumptuous setting of Dharamshala, encircled by the Himalayas, Oman had reached a peak most had considered impossible.

When Oman qualified for the preliminary stage of the World T20 last summer, some labelled it the greatest achievement by any team in the history of sport.

No longer.

In Dharamshala, Oman defeated Ireland, for so long the flag-bearers of the associate cause, to win their maiden game in a world event.

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Anyone who imagines the result was a freak should be dissuaded. In the last 12 months, Oman have also defeated Afghanistan, the Netherlands and Hong Kong. While they are the sole fully amateur country in the World T20, they have a well-honed T20 game.

This was not a victory earned through one innings or one spell. The most impressive Oman bowling figures were 0-24 from four overs; their top score was 38 off 33 balls. But nine players made quietly significant contributions. The upshot was a spectacular team performance.

Left-arm spinner Ajay Lalcheta, entrusted with bowling Oman’s first ever over in a world event, responded with six precise deliveries that did not yield a run. Zeeshan Maqsood managed a spectacular catch, diving one-handed in the covers to remove Paul Stirling, Ireland’s most dangerous batsman. Munis Ansari responded to a chastening opening over to take three wickets with his slingers, once more delivering a fine impression of Lasith Malinga shorn of 25kph.

Maqsood aside, Oman were not outstanding in the field, but their improvement from the qualifiers last July was remarkable.

So, too, was the gumption with which Maqsood and Khawar Ali approached Oman’s chase of 155. Rather than allow Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, two high-class county bowlers, to settle, Oman resolved to attack them. Three boundaries from Maqsood in Rankin’s third over, lashed wide off long on, were laced with wristy chutzpah and considerable class.

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But after Kevin O’Brien ended the opening stand of 69, Oman threatened to subside. Five wickets were lost for 21, and the equation became 60 off 31 balls: ostensibly manageable, but exactly the sort of target that teams chasing had floundered when faced with in the preceding three games in the tournament.

Now Ali, a bespectacled 37-year-old number seven, seized the moment. A thunderous pull shot off Max Sorenson went for six, and Ali then exploited Murtagh’s troubles with the dew to hit three consecutive fours, two of them squeezed through third man.

Each shot felt like a triumph for quiet accountant types the world over: proof that looking like an international sportsman is not a prerequisite to being able to play like one. Seldom has the point been expressed more eloquently than in Oman’s victory.

And never, either, has the depth in the associate game been so apparent. Oman are ranked 29th in one-day cricket. In their triumph was proof of the rich array of talent that exists outside the full member world, far beyond the associate flag bearers Afghanistan and Ireland.

Not that Sultan Ahmed, Oman's skipper, needed any reminder, as he casually mentioned that they now merely need to win two more games to advance to the Super 10s.

Like all the best mountaineers, he is only looking farther upwards.