All-rounder Marcus Stoinis produced one of the best performances of his international career to help Australia beat Oman by 39 runs in the 2020 World Cup opener.
Stoinis did it with bat and ball, helping Australia escape from a sluggish start at Bridgetown.
The 34-year-old became the third player in T20 World Cup history to score 50 runs and take at least three wickets – after Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) and Shane Watson ( Australia) after.
Australia struggled early on after Oman captain Aqib Ilyas sent out the batsmen but managed to score 164-5 in 20 overs at the crease Incredible results.
Stoinis smashed an unbeaten 67 off 36 balls, hitting six sixes, including four in the crucial 15th over.
Experienced opener David Warner and Stoinis put on a 102-run stand for the fourth wicket at one point between boundaries after finally adapting to the spin-friendly pitches 30 pitches.
Warner, who took Australia’s T20 total to 3,155, stabilized the innings during his 51-ball stay, in the process overtaking his former opening partner Aaron Finch (3,120) to become Australia’s leading scorer The most prolific batsman in the format.
Oman never looked like chasing the total and were 34-4 in the eighth over, with Stoinis winning 3-19 thanks to his brutal batting performance.
Ayaan Khan (36) and Mehran Khan (27) showed some resistance for Oman, who lost 125-9 in their first match of the tournament Team Namibia.
In typical Mitchell Starc fashion, the left-arm quick took a wicket in his first over, trapping LB Pratik Athavale .
But Starc (2-20) had to leave the court after the third round because of soreness in his calf, which Australia hoped was just a cramp.
Starc spent more than two days en route to the Caribbean trying to stretch on the pitch, but later left for treatment and further evaluation.
Earlier, star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who had completed five T20I centuries, was out after a flying catch from Ilyas.
Pat Cummins, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League final last month, was rested while Australia brought in Tasmanian pacer Nathan Ellis.
Australia are trying to become the first team to win all three of the International Cricket Council’s major trophies – the One-Day International Cup, the T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship – at the same time.
Australia’s next game is against defending champions England in Bridgetown on Saturday.
