It was hardly vintage Pakistan but, on a two-paced Dubai surface, 160 for 7 may well prove handy. Mohammad Haris, shunted up to No.3, cracked 66 from 43 balls and looked a class above everyone else on show. “I just wanted to break the shackles,” he told the host broadcaster, “once I saw the ball hold a bit I backed my bat-swing.”
The innings never truly flowed around him. Only 31 runs – and a golden duck for Saim Ayub – came in the opening five overs. Sahibzada Farhan, dropped early, nudged and nurdled to 29 off 29, admitting later, “It wasn’t coming on – you had to wait for width.” By the time the powerplay ended, Pakistan were stuck in first gear at 47 for 1.
Haris flipped that script. Sixteen runs off the sixth over sparked a burst where his next 25 deliveries produced 50 runs. A pick-up six over midwicket was the moment Pakistan’s dug-out finally stirred. Yet Oman, who have made a habit of hanging in, refused to wilt. Left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem (3 for 31) tempted Haris into dragging on, then removed Salman Agha first ball with a waist-high full toss. Leg-spinner Faisal Butt (3 for 34) offered tidy support, landing his googly on a length and squeezing the rate.
The middle overs drifted. Fakhar Zaman could not locate his timing – one inside-edge for four summed up his 11 from 15 – and Hasan Nawaz, usually destructive at the death, skied a slower ball after crawling to nine from 15. Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, on TV duty, remarked: “You could see everyone searching for pace that wasn’t there. It was a day for rotation, not muscle.”
A late cameo from Mohammad Nawaz – 17 off nine – nudged the total past 150, giving the bowlers something to protect. Captain Babar Azam, who chose to sit this game out, sounded cautiously upbeat: “On this pitch 160 is competitive, but we must hit our lengths early. Oman have earned respect.”
Oman’s camp quietly fancy the chase. Coach Duleep Mendis noted, “The ball is stopping, yes, yet 8-an-over isn’t impossible if we bat smart.” They know, however, that Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah under lights can look a different proposition.
So Pakistan hold the runs, Oman the hope. The next 20 overs should tell whether Haris’ counter-attack was the decisive hand or merely the set-up to an upset.
