By Admin 
In the warm-up matches being played as part of the preparations for the T20 World Cup 2026, Oman performed brilliantly and defeated Sri Lanka A by 5 wickets. The hero of Oman’s victory in this match played at the Colombo Cricket Club ground was 44-year-old experienced batsman Aamir Kaleem, whose powerful half-century completely changed the course of the match.
Sri Lanka A’s weak start, middle order also failed
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Sri Lanka A team looked under pressure from the very beginning. Opener Sineth Jayawardena returned to the pavilion after scoring just 9 runs. After this, Pulindu Perera (9) and wicketkeeper batsman Pawan Sandesh (3) also could not play big innings. The team was completely on the back foot due to the fall of four wickets within the power play.
Dulnith Sigera tried to last for some time by scoring 20 runs, however after the fall of four wickets for 49 runs, Sri Lanka A’s run rate slowed down considerably. In the middle order, Kosal (21) and Gamage (12) tried to handle the innings, but both could not score fast runs. In the end, Chamindu Wickramasinghe scored a quick 24 runs and took the team to a respectable score. From Oman side, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed and Jay Odedra kept the pressure on the batsmen by taking two wickets each.
Oman wins with Aamir Kaleem’s stormy innings
Oman’s start to chase the target of 146 runs was also not special. The top order was a complete flop and four out of the first five batsmen could not even cross double figures. In such a situation, Aamir Kaleem took the responsibility on his shoulders while handling one end.
Batting aggressively, Aamir scored a half-century in just 25 balls. He hit attractive shots all around the ground and did not give any chance to the Sri Lanka A bowlers. While playing a brilliant inning of 80 runs in 47 balls, Aamir hit 8 fours and 3 sixes. When he was out, Oman was very close to victory. After this, Vinayak Shukla scored unbeaten 39 runs and gave the team victory in just 18 overs.
oldest player
44 year old Aamir Kaleem is the oldest player to play in this T20 World Cup 2026. Till some time back he was the coach of Oman’s Under-19 team, but returned to the team as a replacement and is now proving with his performance that age is just a number. His innings in the warm-up match will definitely give new heights to Oman’s confidence.