T20 World Cup 2026, Match 40: Australia crush Oman to bow out on a high

Match Overview

Australia and Oman faced off in Match 40 of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Pallekele International Stadium. Winning the toss, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh opted to bowl.

With only pride at stake, Australia were at their clinical best with both bat and ball, skittling out Oman for a paltry 104 in 16.2 overs. Oman had a torrid time in the middle ever since being inserted, losing three wickets inside the powerplay, including a wicket on the very first ball, with Xavier Bartlett pegging back opener Aamir Kaleem's leg stump. Bartlett returned in his next and went through the gates of Oman skipper Jatinder (17 off 15) after No. 3 Karan Sonavale (12 off 11) chopped Nathan Ellis onto his stumps.

After Bartlett and Ellis cleaned up the top order, Adam Zampa stormed back into form, having looked like a pale shadow of himself in the previous two fixtures. He shattered Hammad Mirza's middle stump and pinned Mohammad Nadeem lbw in his first spell and returned in the second to add two more to his tally, tossing it up to Shakeel Ahmed to have him caught at long-on and shattering Shafiq Jan's middle stumps to return with a four-fer. In between, Glenn Maxwell struck twice, dismissing both Oman's top-scorer Wasim Ali (32 off 33) and Jiten Ramanandi lbw. Marcus Stoinis also managed a wicket, dismissing wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla.

Chasing a paltry target, openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head seemed in a rush as they dismantled the opposition. Marsh looted 14 runs off Jan's first over with three fours and then sent Jay Odera into the stands. Oman could have seen Marsh's back in the first over as Jan had rapped him on the pads. The replays showed three reds, but surprisingly, none of the players appealed.

Meanwhile, Head was not far behind, smacking consecutive fours off Jan as Australia brought up their team's half-century in just 25 balls. Marsh was severe on Wasim Ali, walloping him in a sequence of 4, 6, 4, dot, 4 in the last over of the powerplay, which Australia ended with 73 for no loss. The last boundary in that brought Marsh's half-century in just 26 balls, which was the highlight of the innings.

Oman finally found a reason to celebrate amid the one-way traffic in the ninth over, when Head skied Shakeel Ahmed, who ran energetically, grabbed a juggling catch despite a minor collision with wicketkeeper Shukla, and broke into Cristiano Ronaldo's trademark 'Siu' celebration. Head fell for 32 off 19 with six fours. Next, Josh Inglis finished the formality two boundaries off Ramanandi, taking Australia home with nine wickets and a whopping 62 balls to spare. 

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the match

Adam Zampa

Having gone wicketless in the last two outings against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Zampa was back in his element against Oman. He tossed the ball up, mixed the pace, varied his length and unfurled his array of variations to outfox the opposition, returning with impressive figures of 4 for 25.

What the captains said 

Winning Team Captain, Mitchell Marsh (Australia)

"Probably just the sense of a missed opportunity (talking about what's going on in his mind right now). As I’ve said a few times, it’s a bitterly disappointed change room. Like every team, we built towards this for two years. Unfortunately, in a couple of key games, we just didn’t play our best cricket - and that’s tournament play. You lose a game like the one against Zimbabwe, and suddenly you’re under pressure. Credit to them, they played well, but we’re a very disappointed group right now.

"I don’t think conditions were the main issue. In Colombo, it was slow, but we had prepared for that. I still believe we had the squad to get the job done. But in tournament cricket, if you’re even slightly off, you can lose a game that puts you on the back foot. Over the last couple of weeks, there were good opportunities for us, but we just weren’t able to deliver when it mattered most. That’s where leadership becomes important.

"(How do you ensure the response isn’t purely emotional and instead constructive going forward?). The leaders within Cricket Australia and within the playing group will sit down and assess things properly. As players and as a team, we’ll look at how we can keep improving. If we’re fortunate enough to get another opportunity as a group, we want to make sure we’re better for this experience. When you fail, there are always learnings. It hurts right now, and we’re disappointed with how it’s unfolded. But we’ll go home, reflect honestly, and move forward.

Losing Team Captain, Jatinder Singh (Oman)

 "I think it’s a proud moment for all of us to have had the opportunity to play in a World Cup. The results and the overall journey may not have gone our way, but everyone in the group is truly grateful for the experience. If I’m honest, I would reflect a little on our preparations. They weren’t quite at the level we needed. We lacked the kind of exposure and support that helps you compete consistently at this level. We wanted to play more competitive cricket against stronger opposition, but instead we played mostly domestic cricket, and that standard doesn’t fully prepare you for a tournament like this. That’s where we probably fell short.

"That said, the boys gave everything. The results aren’t always in your control, but the effort certainly was - and I’m proud of the team for that. Now that we’ve experienced this stage, we understand what it takes to compete here. We’ve learned what ingredients are required to perform at a World Cup. There are a lot of lessons to take away, and plenty of positives as well, especially from competing against strong opposition.

"The aim now is to use those learnings and build towards coming back stronger next time. First of all, we’re incredibly grateful. It’s an honour to represent Oman and play for the country. The support we’ve received from fans across the globe has been tremendous, and we truly appreciate it. Thank you so much for standing by us. With your continued support, I’m confident we’ll bounce back stronger."