MUSCAT: Oman Women captain Vaishali Jesrani top-scored with a fighting 29, leading her side to an exciting 11-run victory against the touring Wanstead Women Cricket Club of UK here at Oman Cricket Turf 1 in Amerat on Tuesday.

Oman now leads the three-match T20 series 1-0 with the next games following on January 20 and 21 at OC Turf 2.

Wanstead had a good first session, restricting Oman to just 103 for 6 in 20 overs, except that it gave away 17 runs in extras including 13 wides and 3 no balls.

Knowing her side’s ability to defend a total, Vaishali stayed on till the 16th over, forging partnerships, running hard for singles, and keeping the scoreboard ticking. The ever-reliable Fiza Javed chipped in with a useful 22 and by the end of 20 overs, Oman had reached a total that it believed was worth a fight. And fight it did.

Wanstead had a wonderful start, reaching 62 for 1 in 13 overs before Oman started to fight back. Yasmin Daswani (29 off 42) was trapped in front by Priyanka was made to sweat for every run as Oman applied relentless pressure. Though the tourists took the fight to the last over, by that time they had clearly run out of steam, and wickets as well, getting bowled out for 92 with 3 balls to spare. Yasmin Daswani and Saba Naseem were their main scorers with scores of 29 and 28 respectively. Bhakti Shetty and Priyanka Mendonca were the picks of Oman bowlers, taking two wickets each.

Brief scores: Oman Women 103 for 6 in 20 overs (Vaishali Jesrani 29 – 1×4, Fiza Javed 22 – 1×4, Sakshi Shetty 14 – 1×4, Priyanka Mendonca 11 – 1×4) beat Wanstead Women CC 92 all out in 19.3 overs (Yasmin Daswani 29 – 1×4, Saba Naseem 28 – 3×4, Aaisha Usman 10 – 1×4. Bhakti Shetty 2-10, Priyanka Mendonca 2-15) by 11 runs.