Marcus Stoinis shone with bat and ball as Australia launched their bid for a grand slam of major cricket titles with a 39-run victory over Oman at the T20 World Cup in Barbados on Wednesday. Stoinis smashed a game-changing 67 not out off just 36 balls to power Australia to 164-5 and then took three wickets for 19 runs as Oman were restricted to 125-9 in reply at Kensington Oval.
6,6,6,6: Marcus Stoinis Takes Pakistan-Born Mehran Khan To Cleaners With 26 Runs In 1 Over. Watch
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Marcus Stoinis hit a total of 6 sixes during the knock against Oman, 4 of which came in the 15th over of the game against Pakistan-born Mehran Khan.
Marcus Stoinis hit 4 sixes against Mehran Khan© Instagram
"Davey (Warner) and I talked about (tactics) before that over," Stoinis added in explaining the sudden batting onslaught. "And then you know how it is when you get the first couple balls away for boundaries, you just think you might as well try to turn it into a big over."
Beaten by Namibia in a thrilling super over finale in their opening game on Sunday, Oman had seemed in the mood for a fight with the early dismissal of Travis Head followed by the Marsh-Maxwell double-blow.
However Australia's competitive know-how saw them through that tricky period as they made a winning start to their campaign to become the first nation to hold all three global cricket titles - Test, One-Day and T20 - simultaneously.
Mitchell Starc, who left the field before the end of his spell with cramp, made his trademark early strike in defence of Australia's total and finished with two wickets, as did fellow pacer Nathan Ellis and leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
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Oman captain Aqib Ilyas meanwhile took encouragement from the performance of Oman's bowlers after a solid start.
"Playing against a top side today was a great experience, especially following on from the Super Over last game," Ilyas said. "They played really well, but credit goes to our bowlers. Our bowlers can do really well on turning tracks."
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