Afghanistan have bounced back after their opening day defeat to the UAE by beating Oman by three wickets in another close match at the Asia Cup Qualifier.

Oman batted first after winning the toss, and got their innings off to a good start with a 72 run opening partnership between Zeeshan Maqsood and Jatinder Singh. The partnership lasted until the 11th over when Singh holed out to Karim Sadiq having scored 23.

This brought out Adnan Ilyas, and he batted with Maqsood long enough to help Maqsood bring up his fifty. He was out stumped for 52 shortly afterwards, but Ilyas was able to accelerate the innings, clubbing 54 from just 27 balls before he was caught at deep square leg.

The final total for the Omanis was 165-4, with Gulbadin Naib the pick of the Afghan bowlers, taking 2-24.

Afghanistan lost Mohammad Shahzad in the first over of their reply, but got back into the game with a 54 run second wicket partnership between Noor Ali Zadran and captain Asghar Stanikzai. That partnership ended when Stanikzai chipped the ball to midwicket, and Karim Sadiq was out two balls later for a golden duck.

Mohammad Nabi was out soon afterwards, and it wasn't until Najibullah Zadran came to the crease at number six that anybody joined Noor Ali Zadran for a significant period. The pair put on 59 for the fifth wicket before Najibullah was trapped lbw by Bilal Khan, and Noor Ali fell the same way two balls later having scored 63.

Heading into the final over, Afghanistan needed 10 with four wickets in hand. The big hitting Gulbadin Naib was at the non-strikers end, and strangely opted not to cross whilst a lofted drive by Samiullah Shenwari sailed into the hands of the long-on fielder.

It was no problem for Dawlat Zadran though as he came to the crease and launched his first two balls for sixes over long-off to secure the three wicket win for his team.

The tournament will continue tomorrow when Hong Kong take on the United Arab Emirates. Afghanistan and Oman will be back in action on Monday, taking on those two teams respectively.

Afghanistan beat Oman by 3 wickets
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, 20 February
Oman 165-4 (20 overs, Adnan Ilyas 54, Zeeshan Maqsood 52)
Afghanistan 168-7 (19.3 overs, Noor Ali Zadran 63, Mehran Khan 3-18, Bilal Khan 3-33)